


Salvation

by timefornothing



Series: Marvelous [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Mind Control, Multi, Violence, idk what else to tag, if i think of it i'll add it, lots of jokes, super powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4093579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timefornothing/pseuds/timefornothing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avengers/X-Men AU. FINISHED </p><p>Magneto's beef with the humans who have wronged him still wage on. When word of a new mutant that could turn the tides in the war reaches him, he decides to kidnap her, planning on making her his secret weapon.. What he doesn't know is that the young girl has a barrage of men and women willing to risk it all to protect her and the Earth they live on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> alright, so this got decently popular on wattpad, so i figured i'd add it here. if you wanna read on wattpad, [click this link!](https://www.wattpad.com/story/8430667-marvelous-salvation)
> 
> the beginning is kind of cliche super hero fan work stuff, but it gets better in the third chapter.
> 
> also basically as many of the xmen and avengers i could think of are in this. also, it kind of takes place in the cinematic universe, but there's a lot of the comic stuff in it.
> 
> thanks to everyone who reads this, it's been a journey (:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning.

**_BOOK ONE: SALVATION_**  
**sal·va·tion**  
salˈvāSH(ə)n/  
-Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.

**Oregon, 2008**

"This is so sweet! It's like you're the avatar or something! Or one of the avengers!"

Hope nodded silently, looking down at her hands in front of her. Somehow, this seemed a lot more serious than a Nickelodeon cartoon. In one hand, she was holding a gentle orb of water, floating slightly above her palm. Her right hand was encased in flames.

"Do the wind thing again!" I shouted over-eagerly to my twin sister. She smirked, letting the water fall to the ground and putting the fire out. Closing her eyes and raising her arms, a large gust of wind began swirling around her, raising Hope off of the ground and making my shaggy hair flow around my head. She hovered and turned back to me, beaming.

"Eric, this feels crazy. I wish I could show you." She said, returning to the ground. I grabbed her hand, pulling her into a hug, then let go, staring intently.

"Hope, is there anything else you can do? We know you got all the elements. But the avatar on that show could do the spirit thing, too. Can you do that?" I stepped back a few steps again, eyes wide. "Try it. Try to feel a spirit or something."

She could feel me probing gently into her mind, and she pushed me back out. "Stop! I can't do it with you listening in like that!"  
I grinned mischeviously. "Sorry, just curious!" She rolled her eyes, then closed them, focusing. I wathched intently, looking for any sign that it was working.

Suddenly, the wind picked up again. Ignoring her protests from earlier, I pushed back into her mind, feeling her mind search through the area around us. My mind went down the same path, poking into corners that she missed.

Then her eyes snapped open, and I felt a tremor go thorugh her mind. The sky around us grew dark, and the ground began shaking.

"Eric! Get out!" She shouted above the howling wind. "I can't control it!"

I tried to pull out, but was halted. Something was holding me in there. "Let go!" I told her, fighting to get out. Instead, I saw her eyes and mouth fly open, a glowing light pouring out of them. A deep sound resonated from all around, including inside my own head. I dropped to my knees, gasping for breath. The pain was beginning to hurt--badly.

"Hope! Let go!" I screamed. My fingers began tearing at the skin on my head, as I couldn't bear the pain anymore.

"You're not permitted to leave." A voice said inside my head. I raised my tear-filled eyes, looking to my sister, hovering slightly above the ground. Eyes aglow, she raised a finger to point at me.

Again, the voice spoke inside my head. "I require your abilities to make my voice heard. Come, join together."

A searing pain flashed through my head. I heard a scream, not knowing whose it was, and I was blinded.

Slowly, the pain subsided, and I dropped face-first onto the ground, everything fading around me.

The last thing I heard was my sister's voice, very close to me, sobbing, "Eric, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

_I'm so sorry._


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find hope in the woods.

"Reports of odd storms have been coming in all over the western United States. What started as random rockslides and downpours have turned into larger hailstorms and most recently, fiery rain. Don't believe me? Take a look of the footage we received from the area of the storms, a logging company in eastern Colorado."

  
The TV switched to a clip of rain pouring down, bringing with it small chunks of fiery rock. The Professor sat forward, scrutinizing what he was seeing.

  
"Experts have no words for us, it seems. So for now, it's up to viewers to decide what exactly is happening here. I'm Sandra Woods, coming to you live from Channel 16, and stay tuned for updates on the weather."

  
"Jean, rewind that for me, would you?" The Professor asked, eyes never leaving the screen. Jean nodded, grabbing the remote.  
"Alright, pause it."

  
Jean hit the button, and everyone sat forward, trying to see what the Professor was seeing. He narrowed his eyes, staring into the clip of the storm. Weather reports had shown the storm and other natural disasters centered around a single area in Colorado. Now, the clip they were seeing was from just outside the edge, and you could see into the forest for only forty yards before the steam and rain and fire became too dense to glimpse any further.

  
Professor Xavier sat back, wheeling his chair around so that he could look at everyone standing before him. Jean, Storm and Scott, attentive as always, sat forward. Logan remained in the back, pretending to not be too interested.

  
"I believe you all should head out to investigate." The Professor smirked. "This may be something we need to see. Warren is already on his way there, meet up with him."

  
The three nodded, leaving immediately for the jet. Logan followed more slowly, much to the Professor's amusement.  
Just over an hour later, they were above Colorado, circling above the storm clouds below.

  
"Storm, can you move them aside?" Scott called behind him, adjusting the controls on the jet's panel. She nodded, closing her eyes. Below them, the clouds moved out a bit, then swarmed back in just as quickly.

  
Frowning, Storm opened her eyes again. "I…I can't." The shock showed on her face as she realized why. "There's someone controlling it from below."

  
Jean glanced over at Scott. "Makes sense why the Professor wants us to check it out now. I'll land the jet off to the left." Logan closed his eyes, grimacing. He hated flying, especially when Jean was piloting the ship.

  
When the plane landed, they all clambered out, looking ahead of them with apprehension.

  
"You first." Logan grunted, nudging Scott forward. He turned and frowned, then began walking forward slowly. Everyone followed, bracing themselves as they stepped into the fiery rain.

  
To their surprise, it didn't hit them. In fact, the fire wasn't causing any damage to their surroundings. It seemed to just disappear as it came into contact with the ground. The further they got in, the heavier the rain became, and the stronger the winds blew. Storm was able to direct the gusts around them so they weren't blown away.

  
As they got closer, Logan's eyes narrowed. Was he the only one who could see it?

  
"You guys see that?" He grunted, looking around. Everyone glanced at him expectantly. Of course. With a sigh, he pointed a finger ahead. "There's a girl up there. Running right at us."

  
Everyone turned back around, then Jean gasped. "Oh, oh wow." They hurried forward, Logan following with an annoyed expression. The group stopped about ten yards from the girl, watching her run at them.

  
"Run!" She screamed. "It's not safe here!" As she grew closer, the tears on her face became more obvious and Storm ran forward, grabbing the girl as she collapsed.

  
"Shh, shh." Storm whispered, holding onto her. "We're here to help, don't worry. What's wrong? Who's doing this?"

  
She shook her head. "I--I--"

  
"Storm, come on." Jean said. "Let's get her out of here. We can ask questions later."

  
The girl's eyes widened as she looked back the direction she came from. "Oh no! He's coming again!" Everyone looked upwards as a giant winged figure swooped towards them.

  
Logan's eyes narrowed, and Scott asked, "Isn't that Wa--"

  
"Stand back!" The girl shouted, standing and throwing her arm up. Pointing at the figure flying towards them, fire shot out of her palm, flying at him. The figure swerved, barely being missed.

  
"No, stop!" Jean grabbed the girl's arm, recovering the quickest. "He's one of us!"

  
"Warren, where the hell have you been?" Scott asked, walking towards him as he landed. The winged man frowned, stalking towards the girl.

  
"I've been following her." He pointed an accusing finger. "Do you realize how many times she's almost burnt me? She hit me with rocks, too!" Storm stepped between him and the girl.

  
"Warren, she was probably defending herself. Did you bother explaining who you were?"

  
Warren shifted uncomfortably. "Well, no. But I saw her! In the middle of the storm! She's gotta be the one causing this, right?"

  
Everyone turned to look at the girl then, who sat there looking at them, eyes still wide. Warren pointed again. "I was flying above it, then there was a giant flash of light. The storm started dying down after that, and then I saw her lying in the middle of it. So I flew down and that's when she woke up and started trying to kill me."

  
"I wasn't trying to kill you, you were trying to kill me!" The girl shouted back, taking a step forward. "You were flying down towards me yelling, what was I supposed to do?"

  
"Okay, okay, calm down." Scott said, stepping in between them once again. "We don't need any fights starting."

  
"Why don't we let 'em go a few rounds?" Logan offered with a smirk. "I'd like to see Warren get his feathers ruffled by a little girl."

  
"I'm not a little girl." The girl huffed, turning to face him. Logan could see that now, as she faced him fully, eyes ablaze with anger. "I'm 19. And you think you could do much better?"

  
Logan's claws slid smoothly out of his hands, reflecting light from the fireballs that continued to rain down around them. "Trust me sweetheart, I can do better and then some."

  
Just before the girl could reply, Jean grabbed her shoulder gently. "I think we should go ahead and get back. The storm seems to be dying out anyways. Do you wanna take care of it?"

  
"Sure."

  
"Yes."

  
Storm and the girl looked at each other, shocked at having spoken at the same time. Then Storm gestured for the girl to go ahead, curious. Blushing, the girl closed her eyes and raised her hand. Slowly, the wind began picking up around them, the dense fog clearing out. The fire disappeared completely and the rain dispersed as the clouds left. Finally, they were left with nothing but a clear sky and soaked surroundings.

  
"So, fire and air manipulation." Jean sighed. "The Professor will have a field day with this."

  
"The Professor?" The girl asked, turning to look at them. Logan watched her carefully. She stared at everyone just a little too long, as if she were trying to get some extra information out of them.

  
"Oh! Right, I'm Jean Grey." She introduced herself. "These are my colleagues, Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine. Warren is the winged man. We're going to take you to see Professor Xavier, who runs a school for mutants. People like us."

  
The girl eyed them warily, then smiled. "I'm Hope." She shook hands with Jean, then turned to look at Warren. "How do I know Warren--if that really is his name-- won't act on his feelings towards me and break my arm like he wants to?"

  
Warren's face broke out in shock. "How did you--I don't--what?" He stepped backwards. "Are you in my head right now?"

 

Hope paused before she shook her head. "No, but I can tell what you're feeling. And it's not very nice."

  
"Then listen to me." Scott said. "I promise you, no harm will befall you while you're with us."

  
Hope stared at him, then sighed. "Fine. Take me to your leader, I guess." Everyone began walking back to the jet, Jean giving Scott a knowing look. Logan paused a bit, smirking at Warren.

  
"Don't get your feathers in a bunch."

  
Hope glanced at him out of the side of her eye. "You're not out of the question either, Wolverine." She looked forwards again and Logan chuckled to himself. Having her around was definitely going to make things interesting.


	3. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan gets in trouble.

"Wolverine, give Hope your jacket."

Logan stared at Storm. "Why would I do that?"

"Because she's wearing practically nothing!" Storm argued, hands on her hips. "She must be freezing."

Logan glanced down at Hope at his side. Storm did have a point. Hope's t-shirt was practically ripped all over the place, and burn marks created holes all the way down her shirt and shorts.

He shrugged the jacket off. "Why didn't you say anything?" He asked Hope, handing her the jacket.

She took it shyly. "I didn't want to be rude. You guys already took me out of the forest. Thanks, for that. And for the jacket."

He smiled down at her. "Don't mention it. I want it back, though." He said pointedly, then walked down the jet ramp, following the others. 

As they set foot in the school, students stopped and stared as the adults passed through them. A few began whispering to each other, trying to discreetly point at the new girl. Hope shrank back closer to Logan, eyes wide as she watched all of them watching her.

"Logan!"

Everyone turned as Rogue ran towards them. She nodded to Jean, then grabbed Logan's arm.

"Thank goodness you guys are back! Reed Richards is here asking about the storms. He wants to call Bruce Banner and bring them all in to study--" Rogue stopped, eyes finally seeing Hope standing just behind Logan. "Who's she?" She asked with a rude undertone.

"Rogue, this is Hope. We rescued her from the storms." Storm said quietly, eyes narrowed. "Hope, this is one of our senior students, Rogue."

Hope reached out her hand to shake Rogue's, but Rogue pulled back with a sarcastic grimace, "Sorry, can't touch people."

Apparently, Hope's closeness to Logan had not gone unnoticed.

"Scott! I'm glad to see you've returned!"

Everyone turned to look at the Professor as he wheeled himself in, smiling. He looked straight to Hope, then raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're a telepath?"

Hope blushed. It had only taken him seconds to catch on. "Only partial, sir."

"Enough of one to know how to block me out, and that is impressive in itself." He mused with a warm smile, looking like he knew more than he let on.

Hope's blush only grew deeper. "I've picked up a few tricks along the way." The Professor nodded, then looked to Scott, who was watching in astonishment. 

"Reed Richards is on his way to discuss the recent events with us. I've also called in Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to come join in the conversation." The Professor looked back to the entire group. "Why don't you all clean yourselves up before our guests arrive, yes?" The Professor and Hope laughed, as if it was an inside joke.

"Jean, would you be so kind as to accompany me to the lab? And Storm, show Hope where she can clean herself off and get some clean clothes." The Professor turned around briskly with a smile, Jean following as they went back the way he came. Slowly, the students around them began dispersing, whispers echoing around the empty hall. Scott grumbled something about 'snotty Stark' and went upstairs.

Storm turned and smiled to Hope. "Come, I'll show you."

\- - - - -

Logan stalked quietly down the hallway, listening for a shower. He figured he might as well get his jacket back while he could. And hey, if he could sneak a peek while he was at it, why not?

Finally finding the right door, he entered slowly and silently. Ahead, he saw Hope in the shower, eyes closed. Perfect. Glancing away from her, he saw his jacket lying on the counter. He stepped inside, shutting the door noiselessly behind him and walking to pick up his jacket. Just before he did, he stole a look at Hope, really looking at her for the first time.

She was obviously young, but not as young as the students here. Her muscled legs were well tanned, along with the rest of her, as if she was out in the sun often. Dark brown hair lay wet against her shoulders, the ends of it just out of sight.

"Are you even allowed in here?"

Logan continued staring at her unabashedly, eyes traveling over the shower curtain that barely concealed her behind it. Had she heard him come in?

"Probably not." He answered, shrugging.

Hope laughed and raised her hands above her head, fingers continuing to massage the shampoo into her hair while her eyes remained closed. Logan watched as it dripped down her arms, disappeared behind the dark band that covered her torso in the shower curtain, then held his breath as it reappeared, still sliding down her legs before hitting the shower floor. 

"Yet you continue to break the rules." Hope looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "This seems to be a serious problem for you, Logan."

He stiffened, eyes leaving her legs and going back to her face. "How do you know my name? Are you some sort of--"

"Mind reader? I guess," Hope closed her eyes, still working at the shampoo, "Like I told the professor, partial telepath. I can, uh, only feel certain things." She opened her dark grey eyes again and looked at him. Logan, in turn, looked away. "You're a very angry individual, it's kinda fun reading you."

Logan remained unmoved, eyes boring into the ground. Hope laughed again, and he looked back up to her. 

"You don't have to be embarrassed! I won't tell anyone about your crush." She gave him a coy smile and reached for the body wash slowly and purposefully, only deepening the blush that had started on Logan's cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, unsure of what to say. It had been a long time since someone had made him this flustered. How did she do that? He could handle every other person on this planet! What was it about her that bothered him? Angry and disgruntled, he searched for an insult.

"You're 19!"

"And you turned 130 years this past year, correct?" Came her quick reply, as if she knew what he was going to say.

Logan stopped, anger forgotten in astonishment. "How did you know?"

Hope gave him almost a sad smile, speaking in a slow tone that seemed much older than her. "The earth can feel your age, Logan. You've been alive a long time, a lot longer than most humans. It can feel what isn't natural. You, of all the mutants I've felt, are the least natural."

He turned away, stoic composure slowly regaining its' hold. Telepath, air, fire, and now earth? "I…Whatever, Hope. The Professor wants you to come see him after your shower." She was silent, so he turned back around, only to see her smirking at him. 

"What's so funny?"

"Marie is outside. She's jealous you're in here with me and not with her in the dayroom."

The corner of Logan's mouth twitched upwards as he pictured Rogue's face. "Better go ease her mind, should I?"

Hope's smile grew wider. "She'd like that, yeah. I'll see you in a few."

Logan turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. To his amusement, Rogue stood there with an unamused look on her face. 

"What were you doing in there?"

Logan smirked at her. "Where's Bobby?"

Rogue blushed a deep red, turning away and marching down the hall. Logan, laughing to himself, began walking the opposite way towards the professor's office. 

He had definitely been right about one thing. Having Hope around was going to make things a lot more interesting.

\- - - - - 

"Xavier? You wanted to see me?"

Rogue huffed. "Well she's gotten awfully comfy with everyone's first names, hasn't she?"

"Rogue, hush." Storm glanced at her, then back to Hope. The Professor responded, "Yes, dear, come on in. Have a seat."

Hope closed the door behind her, sliding into a seat next to the window. Logan shifted to leaning against the wall behind her, which didn't go unnoticed by Rogue. Her face grew pink, and Bobby grabbed her gloved hand. Warren remained seated where he was, watching carefully and a tad angrily. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and Reed Richards all took a seat on the edge of the room next to Storm, Jean and Scott, silent.

"Hope, I wanted to talk to you about your abilities." The Professor remained still in his seat, watching Hope carefully. "As with every new student who comes here, I like to get an assessment of their capabilities. Even though you technically aren't a student, our welcoming process won't be handled any differently." 

Hope nodded. "I wouldn't expect any differently. Jean was thinking you'd want to do as much."

The Professor raised his eyebrows again. "Oh? Did you gather anything else?"

Hope blushed slightly, hesitantly answering, "No, other than the three new men in the room must be the scientists you mentioned earlier, since you all feel warmly about them. Except for Scott. He thinks Tony is arrogant."

Everyone turned to look to Scott, who struggled to come up with an answer. Tony simply raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Well, he isn't wrong."

Xavier shook his head with a chuckle. "Regardless, we will proceed. Now, to the best of your knowledge, tell me what you can do." Everyone around her leaned forward slightly, watching carefully.

Hope struggled to stay still under the scrutinization, obviously trying her best to ignore the stares. "To the best of my knowledge, I am a partial telepath and I control the elements."

Xavier sat straighter, face still calm. "Define partial telepath."

"I can, uh, feel emotions, certain memories, and basic personality traits."

"Certain memories?"

"What about them?"

"Explain."

Hope readjusted her seat, unused to this kind of questioning. "If there's a certain memory that gets triggered by current events, and the feelings are strong enough, I can see and hear them, as if they were my own."

The Professor simply nodded, moving on. "Now. Controlling the elements. Care to show us an example?"

Rogue's mouth dropped open. "Indoors? Are you sure, Professor?"

The Professor simply nodded, an amused smile on his face. "I'm confident our new friend can control her abilities enough to keep us safe in this room." Then he turned back to Hope. "Go ahead, please."

Hope nodded, sitting straighter again. Holding out her right hand, palm upwards, a small fireball appeared. Logan instantly perked up. She had just created fire out of nothing, again. Tony turned to Bruce, eyebrows raised, whispering, "I'm already impressed." Bruce rolled his eyes and waved him off, leaning forward to continue watching.

Then, raising up her second hand above the first, Hope created a small gust of wind that put the fire out, making a small orb of water in it's place. Raising her left, the orb grew in height, slowly becoming a pillar. With a small breath inwards, Hope then clapped her hands together, sending sparks flying around her. Everyone jumped back, then leaned forward once again. Logan's eyes, wide open, left her hands to look at her face. Maybe it was just the lighting, or the reflection of what she was doing, but he could have sworn her eyes were changing colors. Opening up her hands, a small seedling appeared, quickly growing and blooming into a daffodil in a matter of seconds. With a snap, it became engulfed in flames, then just as quickly as it began, a gust of wind dispersed the flames, and her hands were empty.

Everyone sat in silence, eyes wide. Reed was the first to speak. 

"That was an impressive trick." He mused, scratching his head. "However, that's what it seemed to me--just a trick. What else are you capable of?"

Hope shrugged. "Not much more than that. I can control and manipulate the elements really well--just on a smaller scale."

"If you don't mind, Professor," Bruce said cautiously, "I'd like to take Hope outside, see just how 'small scale' we're talking."

"I can do one better!" Reed offered. "When Johnny first got his powers along with the rest of us, I built a test chamber that could withstand incredible amounts of heat. That could work perfectly for what we need."

Professor sat silently, looking at Hope. Her gaze remained connected with his, almost as if they were having a conversation. Jean suspected they were. She could barely keep Xavier out of her thoughts, so how was Hope able to?

Finally, the Professor spoke. "Hope is okay with that." He turned to look to everyone crowded on the edges of the room. "She'll stay here for today to get her bearings, then will proceed with Reed to the Baxter Building. Everyone alright with that?" He glanced around, then nodded. "Good. Now, everyone is dismissed, aside from my esteemed guests, if you don't mind. I'd like to talk to them about the recent efforts of Bruce's research." 

Everyone glanced at each other, then stood, heading towards the doorway. Hope caught Logan's eye, then looked away. Logan simply smiled to himself, heading out the door after her. Storm, seeing the interaction, shook her head. Why did he always get himself into trouble like this?


	4. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope makes an enemy.

"So, she doesn't seem like she could have caused it." Reed started in a doubtful tone. "I mean yeah, her control over the elements is incredible, but like she showed us, it was only on a small scale. What if that's all she can do?"

"That's where I think you're wrong." Bruce contradicted, standing from his seat and walking more towards the desk where Xavier sat. "What she showed us was incredible control--so much control, in fact, that I believe she was holding back."

"I agree with you, Bruce." Xavier nodded. "While Hope was distracted, performing her tricks for us, I was looking into her mind because of my own suspicions on that. She was holding back. Her elemental powers are just as strong as we believe they are. However, there's a part in her mind I cannot get into, no matter what, which indicates her mental ability is stronger as well. It's as if she's built a wall in her own mind that I'm not sure she's even aware of. Maybe she blocked it out because it's traumatic, or someone else put it in there."

"She wasn't lying when she told us what her abilities were." Tony offered, and everyone turned to look at him, confused. He stared back blankly at them. "You didn't bother noticing that?"

"Tony--"

"Okay, okay." He sat forward, hands gesturing as he spoke. "When she was describing her powers to us, she believed what she was saying. You could see it in her face and the way she spoke of it. She really thinks she's only a partial telepath and she honestly thinks she's not that strong of an 'elemental', per say. So here's my theory," He paused, raising a single finger in the air. "What if…someone else has screwed with her mind?" He pointed to each person as he spoke of them. "Like Xavier said, someone else may have blocked out the part in her mind that let's her see just how much power she has. Imagine what else they could be blocking out. I know Reed saw the spot in the film that showed her at the center of the storm--but was anyone else there with her?"

Bruce, after giving Tony an incredulous look, shook his head hesitantly. "No. Not that I noticed, at least."

"There could be an alternate personality." Xavier said quietly, eyes focused on the floor. "She may be like Jean, where her own power continued getting more and more powerful to the point where it became it's own distinct personality, locking itself away in her brain."

"Yes! Yes." Tony clapped. "Good theory. Exciting. I like this one."

"But Jean's an omega." Reed argued, not as excited by the idea of danger as Tony was. "An identified one. Hope just doesn't seem capable."

Bruce shrugged. "I guess we just won't be able to find out until we test her, right? But I'm starting to become more and more sure that she's the one behind the storms. Until she's tested, though, we're just going with alpha. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded, discussing plans, while outside the door, Warren turned away with a dark smile. He blinked, and his eyes changed to yellow, then went back to normal just as quickly as it had happened. Once he was around the corner and out the front door, his skin jumped and switched smoothly to a dark blue, more rubbery looking form.

With a final shake of her head, Mystique was now fully herself again. Jumping into a car she had stashed at the end of the long drive, she turned it on and pulled out to the highway. 

Time to go inform Magneto.

\- - - - -

"So. How did you end up in that forest?"

Hope laughed. "What, no foreplay?" Logan smirked, popping off the cap of a beer bottle. He was glad he had finally convinced Xavier to let him have some in his room. He sat down in a chair across from Hope in the lounge, leaning back and taking a long swig before answering.

"I always get straight to the point, sweetheart." He eyed her. "So tell me. Forest."

Hope smiled, tucking her legs underneath her on the chair. She was wearing one of Logan's t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants from Rogue. "To be completely honest, I don't remember."

Logan froze, beer halfway to his mouth. "You don't remember?"

Hope shrugged, innocent smile still playing on her face. "I don't. It happens, and it's been happening since I was fourteen. One day I blacked out, and I woke up two days and three states later. That was right after my powers started. I'd be good for a day or so, but as soon as I got anywhere near my hometown again, I'd black out and end up further away every time. So eventually, I just stopped trying and just did what I could while I was awake. It doesn't happen as often as it used to, only when I get too close to home or I'm in danger."

Logan leaned forward, tipping the neck of the bottle in Hope's direction. "Sounds like you've got some serious mental issues." He sat there, suspecting an argument, but instead received a genuine smile.

"Right? It's like I'm Jekyll and Hyde or something!"

Logan gave a short chuckle. "Banner knows all about that. You should talk to him about it, he'd probably be able to help." Then an idea occurred to him. "Hey, why didn't you tell Professor or any of them this earlier?"

She simply shrugged. "They didn't ask."

Logan paused, then nodded and leaned back. "Makes sense to me."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, each brewing on their own thoughts and Logan sipping his beer. To his amusement, he watched as Hope twirled her hair around her finger, steam rising off and drying her hair as she went. So that's how her hair was so curly--and and why it was curlier on her right side.

"So how'd you end up with the X-Men?" Hope broke the silence, voice quiet.

"What, you couldn't just read my mind and find out for yourself?" He grunted in reply, eyes focusing on the beer in his hands.  
She smirked, looking to the floor, where she had been staring most of the time. The fire crackled in the background in the seconds before she gave her answer. "Like I'm sure the Professor and Jean do, I have some sort of respect for other people. I don't read other minds unless necessary."

"Then how'd you know I'm an angry individual?"

"Feeling emotions and reading minds are entirely different. It's a lot harder to turn off empathy, anyways." Hope spit out. She stopped, realizing her tone had come out harsher than intended. She looked at Logan apologetically while he raised an eyebrow.  
"Sorry. Didn't mean to sound rude." She said, watching him carefully.

Logan raised his hands. "Not a problem. I'm used to it. Hell, I talk like that most of the time." He took another drink of his beer, then set it down, rubbing his thumb along it absent-mindedly. "I guess me being here was kind of an accident. I mean, if you look at all these guys here…I'm not like them."

Hope nodded. "Yeah, I could tell. You're a good addition though."

"Oh?" He inquired, looking at her.

"Well, yeah. If everyone on a team is the same, all you have is mindless soldiers. Throw in some personality and a little sass, you got yourselves some warriors."

Logan paused, thinking over her words. "You know, you seem older than 19. You talk a lot older."

"Speak."

"What?"

Hope gave a small smile. "I speak as if I'm older. Not talk."

Logan shook his head, chuckling once again. "You're something else, kid."

"You're one to talk, old man." She shot right back, smiling at him before leaning to grab her water bottle off the floor. Logan smiled in response, looking over to the fire place nearby. She was quick. 

He glanced back over at her, watching her point and make the sparks that flew off the logs fly about in intricate designs. She was quick, and funny. Taking a final swig, he set it down on the coffee table, deciding right then and there that he liked quick and funny. A lot.

\- - - - -

"She can control fire? That's sick!"

"Shut up, Johnny!"

Reed smiled as their voices crackled over the phone. He couldn't wait to get back to the Baxter Building.

"Okay, so she's--what'd Tony call her? An elemental?" Sue asked. Reed responded, but Johnny talked over both of them, "She needs to come over here so we can duke it out! See who the real master of fire is!"

"Well we know it wouldn't be you." Ben grunted, and Reed sighed as he listened to Johnny insult him right back. Maybe he shouldn't have been put on speaker.

"Guys! Guys!" Reed interrupted. "Hope is going to be taken to the Avenger's Mansion in Manhattan to do the first initial assessment in their training room. Once that's completed, we're bringing her to the Baxter Building to get down to the specifics."

"And that's when I can fight her, right?" Johnny asked quickly, and Reed heard the sound of him being smacked. God, he loved Sue.

"We'll be ready and waiting, Reed!" Sue said calmly over Johnny complaining in the background. "Miss you!"

He smiled to himself. "Miss you guys, too. Love you, Sue. I'll see you guys in a few days."

"Love you Reedy-poo!" Ben called, and Reed hung up laughing. He missed those guys.

Placing his phone on the nightstand, he sat on his bed. Outside, the sun was beginning to set. Tomorrow, they would head out to the Avenger's Mansion to begin Hope's training. He wouldn't admit this out loud, but he was worried. What if she really was that powerful? The last powerful mutants he knew had gone crazy and nearly destroyed the world in a quest for power.

He shook his head, trying to push his worrisome thoughts of his head. He always worried too much. He glanced over at his notes, laying on the other side of the bed. Picking up the tablet, Reed skimmed over everything he had written down about her. Elemental, influences weather, claims partial telepathy… Everything seemed like it should add up to more. 

Reed shook his head, setting his notes aside. He'd wait to worry about it until tomorrow, when the real experiments began. But no matter how many times he told himself to calm down, he couldn't. He had a bad feeling about Hope. 

Reed just wished he could place a finger on why.

\- - - - -

"An elemental? We haven't seen one of those in a while."

Mystique stood patiently before Magneto, who paced before her thoughtfully. "Yes. She claimed to only have mediocre powers, but the scientists in the room agreed that she was capable of more."

"And what do you think?"

She shifted her weight to her other foot, smirking. "When I first found her in the woods, her eyes were aglow and she was the one creating the storms. So yes, I do believe she is more than capable of what you're planning for her." 

Magneto came to a stop in front of his window, looking out across the water. "More than capable…" His voice trailed off, lost in thought. Mystique waited patiently, and he finally turned to face her again. "All we need is for her to turn the tide. We failed once, we won't fail again." He began pacing again. "This girl seems to have the ability to do that. With her extreme element abilities, there's literally no force that can stop her. And you said she could create the elements out of nothing?" He looked to Mystique, who nodded.

A grim smile spread across his old face. "Then she's perfect. How long until we have a team to go and retrieve our perfect weapon?"

"One day, then we'll be ready."

"Well, get to it!" Magneto took a seat in his chair. "War was never won by someone who sat and waited for victory to come to them."


	5. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope makes some friends.

"Oh my…You guys live here?"

Tony turned and smiled at her. "Actually, Thor, Captain America and Hulk are the only three permanent residents. I stay in Stark Tower. Clint and Natasha tend to stay with SHIELD." He turned back to face the window, smiling proudly. "She's a beaut, isn't she?"

"You need to find something else to do with your money." Bruce said, focusing on turning up the long driveway.

Tony gave him a sarcastic smile."Such as gamma radiation research? But that's your field!"

"Ha ha, very funny Stark." Bruce replied, parking. He got out, followed quickly by Tony, Logan and Hope. In the car behind them, Xavier, Scott, Jean and Reed piled out, each grabbing their bags and following Tony up to the front steps.

He grabbed the door, throwing it open with graceful flair. "Hope, I give you….the Avenger's Mansion!"

They stepped through the giant double doors, Hope and Logan wide eyed as they stared around them. A giant entrance hall stood above them, easily two stories high. A large balcony stood at the far end, with stairs leading up and down. To the left was a doorway to a large living room. Hope looked to the right and saw a long hallway, which led to a kitchen.

"Greetings, heroes." A robotic voice chirped, and Hope and Logan jumped.

"That's just Jarvis." Bruce said with a warm smile. "Don't worry, scared me the first time, too."

"Stark!"

Everyone turned to look to the living room, where two people walked out. The first was very clean-cut, all-american looking. He wore only a white t-shirt and jeans, yet it was obvious he was very fit. His warm smile calmed Hope down, and she looked to the second man just as he looked at her. Their gazes connected and she froze, unmoving in the entryway.

He was tall--much taller than the other men here. His long blonde hair reached his shoulders, matching his blonde beard. Her eyes slowly travelled down his length, taking in the casual blue fitted suit, leather chest armor, worn in boots. His muscular frame made him seem larger than life, almost god-like. When her eyes made their way back to his face, she found him watching her with an amused grin. She blushed deeply, looking away.

"You didn't tell us you were bringing guests!" The first man said, stopping in front of Tony with his hands on his hips.

Tony looked around. "Didn't I? Oh, I'm sorry. Well, they're only staying for a day anyways. Guys, meet Steve Rogers, aka Captain America." Steve nodded to them, and Tony pointed to the second man, "This is Thor, from Asgard."

"Pleasure meeting with you." He said, deep voice echoing around them. Hope's breath caught in her throat as she avoided eye contact. Logan glanced down at her with a questioning glance, and she shook her head, taking a step closer to him.

"Steve, Thor, this is Scott, Jean, and Logan. They work with Professor Xavier, whom you already know. And you guys know Reed." Tony clapped his hands together with a broad grin. "And, introducing the star of the show, Hope!"

Hope gave a small smile and wave, shyly not saying anything. Steve nodded to her, then looked back to Tony. "Star of the show?"  
"Oh, yeah." He nodded. "Well, you know those fiery rains and everything on the news?"

"Yes." Thor said, "They did not seem characteristic of this realm."

"Well, they are!" Tony gestured over his shoulder to Hope with his thumb. "We think she did it, but she says she didn't, so now we're here testing her powers." 

"Well, just lay it all out, why don't ya." Reed said, and Bruce shook his head. "I'll meet you guys down in the lab…"

Tony turned to smile at the group. "Make yourselves at home! Testing begins in an hour, guest rooms are down the hall, and if you need anything, Jarvis is always there."

"As per your request, sir." Jarvis agreed, and Hope jumped again. Thor gave a deep chuckle. 

"I see the maiden is not yet used to this ethereal voice, either!" He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I admit, I have been here quite a few months, and it still catches me by surprise."

"Cool story, Thor." Tony said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm gonna follow Bruce to the lab. See you guys down there soon." He turned and walked towards the staircase leading downwards, and Reed led the way to the rooms.

Hope followed silently, still looking at everything around her. When she finally reached her room, she stepped inside, sitting down on the bed. She was sure everyone else would be unpacking, but she had nothing to unpack. All she had was the t-shirt from Logan and the sweatpants from Rogue. However, it was nice to finally be able to sleep on a real bed.

"It's different, is it not?"

Hope jumped, spinning around on the bed to face the doorway where Thor and Steve stood. 

"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you." Steve said, stepping inside. He took a seat a couple feet away from her, and Thor remained leaning in the doorway. 

"We just wanted to come check on you." Steve said. "We noticed you seemed a little out of place, Miss…?"

"Hope." She smiled. "You can just call me Hope."

Steve smiled back at her politely. "Well, Hope, we noticed you were a little out of place. You're not used to this kind of stuff, are you?"

Hope shook her head, glancing at Thor. "No, not really. I mean, I lived at home when I was younger. But for the past five years, I've been out in the wilderness. I almost forgot what it was like to have a real bed, let alone be inside a building."

Thor nodded. "Yes, I know what you mean. I come from Asgard, a world much different than here."

"And I'm from the 1940's." Steve raised a hand when Hope narrowed her eyes. "Don't ask me how. It's complicated." He relaxed again, "But what we're saying is, we know what it's like to feel out of place. We've had some time to bond over that. And if you ever need someone to help you with something, we're here."

"I cannot guarantee I will understand what you are trying to do," Thor added, "But I will try my best to aid you, Lady Hope."

Hope smiled at them. "I can't thank you--"

"You guys done with the chick flick bonding moments yet?"

The three turned to look in the hallway where Logan stood, frowning. Hope gently reached out and felt mostly anger, annoyance and…jealousy? Was that jealousy? She smiled to herself, earning a confused look from him.

Logan shook it off. "Come on, let's go ahead and get down to the lab. The Science Club is already there." He turned and stalked down the hallway, leaving them silent.

"Pleasant fellow." Steve commented, brow furrowed.

Hope shrugged. "Eh, he grows on you." She stood. "Come on, let's go see what I can do!"

\- - - - -

"Ugh, who was in this lab last?" Tony asked with disgust, wiping the white goo off of his hand. 

"Uh, Spiderman was here earlier today, using the test room." Steve answered, nose crinkling as he glanced around the room.

"Yeah, well, I guess he had fun." Tony stated shortly, then turned to Bruce. "Alright, Brucey. What tests are we gonna run?"

"I was thinking basic agility and strength tests at first." Bruce said. "Maybe combat, see how she does with her abilities against Thor or something." He turned and pressed a button, turning on the lights in the training room. "Then test her powers specifically."

Hope nodded from inside the training room, hands clenching and unclenching in anticipation.

You don't have to be nervous. Xavier's voice spoke calmly in her mind. Just do what you can to the best of your abilities, that's all we need.

Will do. Thanks. Hope responded, smiling. He nodded at her, then said over the speakers, "Are you ready, Hope?"

She gave him a thumbs up, and Bruce's voice came over the speaker, "Alright, then here we go." He leaned over and pressed a button, and the lights dimmed in the watch room, so she could no longer see them.

Hope let out a deep breath and turned around, looking at the blank walls. What was this room going to do? From listening to the stories they all told, she knew to be ready for anything.

Suddenly the floor began moving, going in one direction as if it were a giant treadmill. Confused, she walked along it. Then out of the floor grew blocks in her path. Some were simple, and she could easily step over them or jump. Then the floor began moving faster, and the blocks became taller or shorter and grew in numbers, causing her to jump and navigate her way through them.

Her breath began coming in short gasps, but she kept going, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of them. She had no idea how long she had been doing this for. Then, the floor stopped moving, and the blocks shrank down until she was standing on flat ground again. She stayed facing the opposite wall, trying to catch her breath.

"Good, Hope! Very good." Bruce's voice called over the speaker. "You did good. We're gonna test your element abilities now. For the red targets, hit them with a fireball or set them on fire. Blue targets, do the same with water, and green for earth or rock, whichever you call it."

She finally turned around, face still pink. "But, I don't think I can--"

"Just try your best, Hope." Tony interrupted her. "Remember, we're testing the extent of your abilities. We want to know what you can't do."

Hope sighed and nodded, turning back around. She heard the beep that signaled the beginning, and eventually a red target popped up to the left of her. Gathering the fire in her left hand, she shot a fireball, catching it on its left corner. A blue target popped up on her right, and she shot water at it, coming closer to the middle. If anything, this was good target practice.  
The targets popped up quicker and quicker, staying put for a shorter amount of time and with less time between the targets. At some points, she could be tossing a rock with her left and water with her right, all while spinning and trying to spot all of the targets. 

Then two targets popped up by each other. Then three. And soon, just sending orbs of the element wasn't enough to destroy the target. She threw larger fireballs, walls of flame, and waves of water. Rock formations appeared out of the floor. Sweat began beading up on her forehead again, dripping with concentration. How much harder could they make this? The test was becoming difficult, and she grew frustrated. She was exhausted!

And then the floor was gone. Hope screamed, falling through the opening. Spinning her hands around her in panic, a gust of wind picked her up and brought her back to the surface, turning her so she was staring at the window.

"Impressive, Hope!" Tony said, and Hope's mouth dropped open.

"Are you insane?! I could've died!"

"Ah, but you didn't!" Was his response. Hope reached out with her mind, and found waves of relief radiating off of him.

"Oh my God... You didn't know if I'd make it or not." Hope frowned again. "It was a total shot in the dark!"

"Hope, calm down." Jean started quietly, and Hope glared through the window, ignoring whatever it was Jean was saying to her. They didn't know if she would survive! They risked her life for a scientific experiment! She could've died!

She felt a familiar heat begin building in the back of her mind, and she continued to glare at them, letting the feeling take over this time. The warmth spread, and then all became black. The last thing she heard was Logan ask, "What the hell is that?"

"Uh, Hope?" Tony said from inside the room. They all looked out at her, and Reed's mouth dropped open. 

"This is what we saw in the news clip." He told them, voice barely above a whisper.

In the room before them, Hope continued to float above the floor that had been reinstated. The wind was picking up around her, sending her hair whipping back. 

"That's not normal." Tony looked at everyone around him. "Her eyes aren't normally like that, right?"

Hope's eyes had begun to glow white, sending an eery glow around her face. The lights in the lab began to flicker, and Bruce turned to Reed. "Okay, we gotta stop her." Reed looked to the X-men representatives in the room, "Do we have a known weakness?"

Jean shook her head, looking to the Professor. "Can you get in her mind?"

Xavier sat, eyes wide with shock. "That's…that's not Hope in there. I can't get in. But I can feel her, and that is most certainly not the girl I felt before…" Then he sat forward. "This is it. This is the being we sensed at the back of her mind. The one who built the barrier!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Steve said, looking around at all of them.

Bruce turned to explain. "When Xavier initially read her mind, he couldn't. He could only get the basic shallow information she let him see. But below all that, beneath Hope's barriers, there lay an impenetrable wall, which we think was inserted by someone else." He gestured toward the window. "Turns out, this is that someone else."

A rock came flying through the window, causing everyone to drop to the floor. Thor and Logan stood first, both looking at Hope.

"We gotta stop her!" Logan said, claws sliding out. He jumped through the window, ignoring Bruce's calls to wait.

"Hope!" He shouted, climbing on top of a target to get eye level with her. "Hope! Stop this, I know you can hear me!"

Hope turned to look at him. _I'm not your precious Hope._ She snarled. With a flick of her finger, Logan was lifted off the ground and tossed aside, hitting the wall hard. 

"Hope!" Scott called, stepping towards the window.

 _How many times must I tell you mortals?_ The voice echoed around the room. Hope raised her hand again, pointing her open palm at them, then Thor's eyes widened.

Mortals?

"Stop!" He bellowed, stepping forward, hammer raised. "I am Thor, son of Odin, ruler of Asgard!" He stopped beside Scott, eyes narrowed. "Identify yourself, creature of the realms."

Hope smirked. _It took you long enough._ She raised both hands, a soft glow spreading from each fingertip. _I am Idril. I hail from Alfheim, Asgardian._

"Alfheim? Where the Light Elves live?" Thor questioned, lowering his hammer. "But what is your business on Midgard?"

Everyone watched in confusion and shock as Hope smiled again, responding, _You'll see soon enough._

With a large flash of light, blinding them momentarily, the wind disappeared, leaving Hope to fall to the floor. Thor flew forwards, barely catching her before she hit the ground. He set her gently on the floor, still holding her upper body in his lap. Scott and Tony jumped down, running over.

"Is she alright?" Jean called down, looking down with Xavier, Bruce and Reed.

Scott checked for a pulse, then nodded. "Yes, she's breathing. She's fine."

Logan finally made his way over, rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell was that?"

Thor's brow was furrowed, thinking. "That, my fellow warrior, was a being from another of the nine realms." He looked up to Scott, saying grimly, "We may have a large problem on our hands if a Light Elf is making themselves known on Midgard."

\- - - - - 

"Is Lady Hope going to awaken soon?"

Bruce sighed, crossing his arms. "I'm not sure, Thor." He scratched his head. "I was never really into people science."

Thor frowned, looking back to Hope. Logan stood from his seat in her room. "I'm gonna take a whiz and get some sleep. Come get me if something cool happens."

Bruce looked at the monitor that showed her heart rate again. He looked back to the remaining people in the room, which included himself, Reed, Thor, Tony, Steve and Xavier.

"I mean, she's breathing, and her heart rate's normal, and Xavier said her brain is fine." He shrugged. "Maybe she just needs to sleep it off, you know? I know when I come back from being the Hulk, I'm pretty exhausted. I can only imagine what it's like being possessed by a…what'd you call it Thor?"

"A Light Elf. One of the nine realms is Alfheim, similar to what human Christians call heaven. The Light Elves dwell there, and they do not normally meddle in the other realms unless there is an unbalance in the light and dark energy." Thor responded, explaining slowly. "If there is an unbalance, they come to fix it."

"Well that sounds promising." Tony commented, rubbing his forehead again. "I'm gonna go have a drink."

"Right behind you." Bruce sighed, following him out the door. Xavier and Reed followed silently, and Steve looked to Thor.  
"You alright, soldier?"

Thor nodded slowly. "I will watch over her until she awakens. You have no need to worry."

Steve smiled. "You got it. I'm just a room away if you need something." He turned and left, still smiling. He may speak weird, but Thor was a good guy, through and through.

Thor took the seat that Logan left open, watching Hope carefully for signs of movement. What could possess a Light Elf to want to take over a human's mind? He had never heard of it before. They stayed out of the other realms.

Hope shifted, still asleep, and Thor sat straighter, more attentive. When he was sure she was not waking up, he relaxed again. This young girl had captured his attention. He wasn't sure what it was quite yet, but she had something about her, some quality she had that he couldn't get past. She was attractive, yes, but that wasn't it.

It was something about her spirit. She didn't give up today, even when she was exhausted.

He smiled. She deserved this rest, especially with what was coming tomorrow. He admired her for submitting to this testing.

Settling into his chair, he continued to ponder on this strange girl and her origin. While he did that, Hope smiled to herself. Her back was to him, so he couldn't see the smile, but it continued to grow as she listened to his thoughts. He may look like a brute and an oaf on the outside, but his mind was lyrical, almost. It was a change up from the brutish and scientific ones she'd been listening to recently. She let herself wonder in his mind, exploring his memories of the nine realms and his adventures from across the bifrost, then she couldn't hold it in any longer.

She rolled over, blinking her eyes slowly, as if she were waking up. She looked around, pretending to act confused.

"Lady Hope! You have awoken!" Thor sat up, smiling at her. "Quite a feat you performed in the lab today."

She smiled back, sitting up slowly. "Yeah, I know. I think I was hearing people's thoughts while I was asleep."

"Oh?" Thor questioned. "You are a mind reader, as well?"

"Eh," Hope waved her hand, "A little. Nothing too impressive."

"Any form of mind reading is impressive to me." Thor smirked. "I cannot imagine the secrets you must see."

She laughed, "You don't wanna know the half of it." Thor chuckled along with her, and she looked at him. "So, I'm so sorry about this, but I think I was reading your mind just before I woke up. I was seeing something called a bifrost? And heard someone tell you nine realms? What is that all about?"

Thor looked down at his hands he had clenched together in his lap. "Ah, you've tapped straight into the heart of Asgardian stories." He looked up to her warmly. "Do you wish me to tell you about them?"

Hope sat cross-legged, smile lighting up. "If you don't mind! I mean, I don't wanna bug you."

"Your interest in these stories is no bother of mine." He chuckled, then scooted more towards the edge of his seat, pulling his hair behind his ear. "Where do you wish me to start?"

Hope scrunched her face together. "Well, I guess, the bifrost. How did that come to be? And does it really connect all the nine realms?"

Thor's smile grew broader as he looked into her eyes. "So many questions!"

"Oh, sorry!"

"No worries, milady." He scooted even closer, setting his hands on the side of her bed. "Now, back when the universe was only but one realm, two beings were created…"

Hope sat forward, eyes wide and intent on his story. She listened to his voice, telling her his tales of how the realms were created and how he came to be the god of thunder. His voice soothed her, put her to ease, almost making her forget what she had learned from reading Reed's mind earlier today.

Almost.


	6. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xavier gets pushy.

"It still doesn't make sense, though." Tony argued, leaning across the table and staring at Bruce and Steve. It was early morning, the day they were planning on leaving for the Baxter Building. 

"What about it doesn't make sense?" Steve responded. "We've dealt with this kind of thing before. What we need to do is figure out what it wants and then get rid of it."

"What if it's not exactly a bad guy?" Bruce countered quietly. "I mean, the way Thor described it, it doesn't seem all that bad."

"Of course it's bad!" Tony shouted. "If it's taking over innocent girls and--"

"Shh, she's coming!" Bruce whispered, waving his hands. They all sat straighter, watching her walk in the room with Logan behind her. They all watched her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Logan growled at them, turning to grab some milk from the fridge.

"Logan, it's okay." Hope smirked at them. "You don't have to whisper. I can hear you all anyways." She tapped the side of her head, and Tony looked down at his shoes whispering, "Dammit."

"So I'm assuming you know what happened yesterday?" Bruce asked gently, staying on the opposite side of the table.

Hope nodded, taking a drink of the glass of milk Logan had poured for her. "Yeah. I mean, I read Reed's mind on accident when I was asleep yesterday. So I got a biased view of it."

"Oh." Steve said, brow furrowed. Tony looked up to her, "We just need to figure out how to help you."

"So I've heard." She replied with a sarcastic smile. "Look, let's just focus on my powers and once we know what I can do, then we can deal with this Light Elf in my head. Sound good?"

Bruce and Steve nodded, and Tony asked sarcastically, "When did we let a 19 year old start calling the shots?"

Hope smiled, but Logan remained frowning in the corner. No matter what Hope told him, he still didn't trust these guys. Hell, he didn't trust anyone. But if the Professor was backing them, they must be at least halfway decent.

"So, Baxter Building?" Hope asked, sitting herself on the counter. "What's it like?"

Tony started, "Eh, it's nothing compared to--"

"It's amazing!" Reed interrupted, walking in with Jean and Scott. "There's so much lab space!"

"You're just a little biased." Tony argued, sounding like a five year old.

"And you aren't, Stark?" Jean cut in smoothly, smiling. Tony shrugged, grinning. 

Hope remained on the counter, watching everyone with wide eyes. It had been a while since she had seen so many people in one place, all happy anyways. She had missed this.

Later that morning, as they prepared to leave, she said goodbye to Steve and Thor. Steve gave a simple handshake, wishing her luck. Thor kissed her hand, also wishing her luck but adding, "May our paths cross again some day, lady Hope." Hope blushed in response, following Logan to the car while he muttered something about a casanova.

The car ride was uneventful, and Hope spent most of the time casually glancing into everyone else's minds to gather what she could of the events that unfolded yesterday. 

A Light Elf? From what Thor had told her last night, most of what was known of the Light Elves was mostly speculation. Light Elves were apparently heavenly to look at, "almost as beautiful as the sun." This explained the glowing light that appeared around her every time it took over. She had never been taken over while other people were around before, so she had never been able to see what it really was. 

They were rarely seen in the other realms, preferring to stay in their own. According to Thor, they kept tabs on the negative and positive energy in the world, and would come around to correct it when it got too far out of balance. So if the Elf was here, that meant something was out of balance. What could that be? Hope sat backward, closing her eyes. This was all a little much to handle for her. So instead, she focused on things that could be managed.

Her elemental abilities could be managed. She was nervous for the testing at the Baxter Building today. She hadn't exactly been honest when she told them her powers, and she knew they knew that. Who knew what they were going to test her on here?  
Despite their known general caution of her, she genuinely liked all of them. Xavier was very kind, acting almost as a guide through this whole process. She could feel him trying to get a glimpse into her mind every once in a while, but her barriers held, just like she knew they would. Jean was inquisitive as well, but kept her mind to herself and Scott.

Scott. How could she describe him? He was good to his core, just like Steve, but had a very strict opinion and wasn't afraid to put people in their place, namely Logan. Logan also had his opinions, and they came out as snide remarks. But he had a good heart, and from what Hope could see, a few good reasons not to trust people. Despite that, he seemed to have taken a special liking to her. 

Hope smirked as she pressed into Logan's mind gently, so he would not know she was there. He was sitting next to her, completely oblivious. Logan's mind was a maze, a terrible, dark, twisting maze full of secrets and a past so dark, even he didn't want to think about it. She could understand that well enough…

Tony and Bruce were something completely different. Bruce was a quiet man, overly kind and generous, probably overcompensating for his alter ego. Hulk was a brutish animal. She could feel him, at the back of his mind, waiting. Adrenaline activated his change, sure, but he was always there. From what she could gather out of his dormant state, he acted on rage and instinct, not unsimilar to the way Logan fought. But the Hulk did have a sense of what was right and wrong: he wasn't a complete animal. 

Tony, on the other hand, was everything Scott and Logan thought he was: arrogant, vain, selfish and overly confident. Yet, even with all those character flaws, he was a genius and a gentleman (mostly), and he did what he thought was right. 

She had taken a special liking to the Avengers. They were all good people, and unlike the X-Men she had met so far, each had a completely different personality.

And even more different than all of them was Thor, with his unfamiliar speech and customs. What she had learned from him last night had sparked her interest, and she had listened to him talk quite literally until she fell asleep. He was kind, and gentle, and had a warrior's heart. Reading his mind was like reading a storybook, and she never wanted the novel to end.

"We're here!"

Tony's over-cheerful announcement broke through her thoughts. She blinked her eyes open and looked out the window. They were in the middle of a huge city. Hope's eyes widened as she stared at the massive buildings, towering higher than anything she had ever seen. It'd been a long while since she'd been in the cities.

The building they pulled up next to towered just as high as the others, and Reed's face broke out in a proud smile. "Welcome to the Baxter Building."

Hope and Logan followed Reed, Xavier, Bruce and Tony as they parked and got out, hurrying through the crowded streets. Scott and Jean had gone back to the school to help out Storm with trying to find where Warren went.

"Why are we going so fast?" Hope asked Bruce, whose hand stayed on her shoulder. 

"Oh my God, Tony Stark?!" A shrill cry pierced through all the noise.

Bruce sighed, gripping her shoulder tighter and directing her to the front door. "Because of that."

"Tony! Tony!"

"Ironman! Hey!"

"Mr. Stark, over here!"

Tony smiled at all of them, waving and backing towards the doors. "Hey guys! Love to stay and chat, but I can't. Maybe next time?" WIth a quick smile, he turned and stepped quickly inside, doors shutting out the screams that had started. He looked up to find everyone staring at him, and he shrugged defensively, "What?"

"This is why we have secret identities." Logan grunted, crossing his arms.

"You just say that because no girl is turned on by an animal with claws." Tony sneered, then turned to Reed. "Lead the way, Richards!"

Reed stared at Tony for a moment, then sighed. He turned towards the elevator, nodding at the doorman as they all clambered in. Hope waited apprehensively as the elevator went up, up, up, all the way to the very top floor. When she stepped out, she was overwhelmed again by the immense space and the amount of technology that surrounded her.

"Reed!"

They looked to their left, where an attractive blonde woman came running over, practically jumping onto Reed and hugging him. He held onto her tightly, smiling broadly with a small laugh.

"Hey, Sue." He let her go, stepping back and smiling. "Things run smoothly while I was away?"

She frowned. "As smoothly as they can with Johnny sticking his nose in things the way he does." As if on cue, a loud crash rang out from towards the other side of the lab.

"I'm okay!" A male voice called, and Hope immediately sent out her mind to see who it was. She didn't have to wait long: he walked out around the corner, holding some sort of broken device in his hands. Hope stared at him, smiling. She could sense a sibling bond between this guy--Johnny--and Sue. Just like his sister, he was fit, and very good looking. He was quite a few years younger than Reed and Sue, maybe only a couple years older than her. She searched his mind and quickly found the answer; he was 21, just recently dropped out of college, and oh--he was good friends with Spiderman. His dark eyes smirked at her, a small smile playing on his lips.

"What's with all the matching outfits?" Logan grunted. "Looks like they're all circus performers."

"These suits are adapted to our individual DNA and abilities." Sue said, giving him a look. "They allow us to do whatever we need without interfering."

"It's so this circus performer can do his best tricks." Johnny added, offering a hand out for Logan to shake. He did so, warily, and Johnny's smile broke into a wicked grin. "Like this."

He burst into flames, and Logan jumped backwards with a yell, letting go of his hand. He stared at Johnny, wide eyed, while Johnny was doubled over, laughing. Tony joined in, and Bruce tried to his his smile. Hope's hand went to cover her mouth, and Johnny winked at her. Just as soon as they had appeared, the flames went out, and Johnny stood before them with his arms out wide. "And still clothed, to the great displeasure of the ladies in the room." He gave a little bow, and Sue shoved him. 

"Shut up, Johnny." She turned to Logan. "I'm sorry, he likes to play alpha male and show off."

"Oh, I think we figured out who the alpha male is." Tony said not quite under his breath, and Bruce frowned at him.

"Come on, I'll show you guys where you're staying." Reed said quickly, changing the subject. He waved his hand, gesturing for them to follow. 

"The top floor is all lab space, and that's where I spend most of my time. One floor down," They went down in an elevator, "Is living area. Bedrooms are all along the floor, the kitchen and living room and a couple offices are in the middle of it all." He turned to face them, stopping in the middle of the kitchen. "So make yourselves at home! If anybody needs anything at all, us four are around here somewhere, and we'll help you."

"So when do you guys wanna get started?" Sue asked, smiling at Hope. "I'm kind of excited to see what you can do."

"So am I." She agreed, and Johnny frowned at her, "You mean you don't know?"

Hope shrugged. "I mean, I've never really tested my limits before. I only really did what I needed to get by, so I don't know how far it can go."

"Well, I'm ready to see what you can do. Maybe fight a little fire with fire, eh?" He said with a smile, nudging her with his elbow.

"Alright, Johnny." Sue scolded while Hope laughed. Reed turned back to everyone. "So yeah, go ahead and get settled in, and I guess we can all meet up in the lab when we're ready."

Logan grabbed Xavier's bag and they headed down the hallway to the right, Tony and Bruce with their backpacks following them. Hope watched them go, then turned back to only find Johnny standing there.

"Why don't you go unpack? I'll help." Johnny said, smirking. Hope could sense that he meant to help her with other things.

Hope shrugged, putting her hands in her sweatpants pockets and looking at her bare feet. "I don't have anything to unpack."

Johnny followed her gaze, then looked to her face. "They didn't even give you shoes?"

"What?" Hope snapped her head up to find his scrutinizing gaze. "No! I uh, don't like wearing shoes. So I can feel the earth."  
Johnny continued staring at her, and she sighed. "I thought Reed called you guys last night. I do the whole elements thing. Earth, water, air and fire."

"Yeah, I know."

"Then why are you staring at me?"

He shrugged, smiling again. "I dunno. You're pretty. I like your eyes. You look like you need a shower. Pick your favorite reason."

Hope rolled her eyes. "From charming to annoying in two seconds flat. Impressive!"

Johnny laughed. "I pride myself on it!" He looked to her feet, then back to her. "So they gave you a t-shirt and sweatpants, and that's it?" Hope nodded, and he cocked his head. "Did they give you--"

"Yes. They did." She cut him off, closing her eyes and raising her hand.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Johnny protested, and Hope opened one eye to glare at him.

"You were going to ask if I had any underwear on."

"No I--" He stepped back, confused. "Wait. Mind reader, too? Sick!"

Hope smiled again, relaxing. "Yeah, so be careful what you think around me." She poked him in the center of the chest, then stepped around him, walking towards the stairs that led up to the lab. Johnny watched her for a second, smiling to himself, then went running after her. 

"You know, you can rock those sweatpants."

\- - - - -

"So you're the girl behind the ruckus on the news."

Hope smiled, adjusting her seat on a countertop in the lab. She and Johnny had come up here only to find Ben, aka The Thing, talking to Reed. Hope instantly felt comfortable with him, he had such a kind mind. "Yeah, that's me! Er, supposedly."

"Except not really." Johnny said excitedly, hands flying through the air as he spoke. "Reed said she has this alter ego elf that takes over and everything goes to shit when it does."

Hope grimaced. "Thank you for that wonderful explanation, Johnny." Then she turned to Ben again, "But yeah, we think this elf that's been possessing me is behind it all. So we're gonna test my powers and figure out what to do from there."

Ben shook his head, sighing. "I've seen a lot of weird things in my life, but nothing like this yet." He turned to Reed. "Got a cure yet?"

Reed shook his head, only to be interrupted as everyone else came into the lab. Hope felt Xavier's mind try to see into hers again, but she pushed back, earning a surprised grin from him. 

_I'm not trying to cause trouble, Hope._ He told her gently. _I only wish to see if there's another way to help you._

Hope frowned at him. _But I don't want you to see the things that are in here. I don't even want to see them. And if you go searching, they'll be brought up and I'll be forced to relive them._

Xavier paused, then began pressing gently in her mind. _Just show me what you want me to see, and that's all I'll look at. I promise._

_No._ Hope pushed him out again, a little more forcefully. _I'm sorry, but no._

At that point, she noticed everyone else was watching them, and she relaxed her face, which had stayed put in the grimace. 

"Everything good between you two?" Tony asked warily, glancing from her to the Professor. Shooting him a look, she nodded.

"Yeah, we're good. Are we gonna get started now?" She jumped down, walking over to Reed. He fumbled with the papers in his hands, stumbling over the beginning of his sentence.

"Yes. Yeah. We uh, the fire chamber." He recovered, looking at his notes. "We're gonna put you in the fire chamber I designed and see how big and hot your fire burns."

"Sounds good! One problem though." Hope gave an embarrassed smile. "These are the only clothes I have, and I don't want them to burn up. Any chance you got another one of those suits?"

"Actually, yeah, we have a couple spares. I can't guarantee it'll work, but we can try." Sue turned to a closet, taking Hope with her so she could change. When she returned, Johnny whistled.

"Looking good in that suit!" He turned to Ben, "Think we could make it the Fantastic Five?"

Ben laughed. "In your dreams, Johnny." Johnny smiled and turned back to look at Hope, "Oh, and what wonderful dreams those are."

Hope blushed, uncomfortable from the looks Logan and Johnny were giving her. "Can we get started please?" Reed nodded, directing her towards the chamber. She climbed in with a sigh, mind glancing through everyone's thoughts at that moment. Most of them were anxious about the experiments, Xavier was still trying to get into her mind, and Johnny and Logan were thinking about her in the suit.

With a final grimace, she couldn't help but wonder, what had she just agreed to?


	7. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find out the tragic backstory.

"Okay, Hope. Just start the fire, we're gonna see how hot you can burn."

Hope nodded hesitantly, then held a fireball in her hand, even with her face.

"Okay, now make it hotter." Reed told her, voice crackling through the speakers. Everyone was behind glass in an office overlooking the lab in case it got too hot in the room. Hope complied, concentrating on making the fireball in her hand brighter. Because of that, it slowly grew bigger and bigger, until there was seemingly a wall of fire in front of her. She continued, fire enwrapping the fire chamber's interior. At first, she flinched back from the flames, but found they didn't hurt her. With a smile of exhilaration, she let it burn and burn, entire body encased in flames. 

"Should we tell her to back it off?" Reed asked, and Johnny laughed, "Sound familiar? This is so sick!"

"No, let her see where it goes. Remember, she's just as curious as we are." Bruce said, eyes narrowed as he watched.

Hope continued, the fire around her almost becoming white hot. She felt a gentle pressing off towards the back of her mind, and her eyes snapped open as she realized it was Xavier trying to get in while she was distracted. Furious, she shoved him out, seeing an annoyed look spread across his face up in the viewing room. With this burst of anger, the flames exploded around her, hotter and bigger than she had ever seen herself produce. 

"Hope, back off!" Reed yelled suddenly, seeing the sudden spike in temperature. Just like that, the flames were gone, leaving Hope in the middle of the fire chamber again. Her suit looked a little singed around the ankles and wrists, but was still in one piece. She glared up at the viewing room, shoving her way straight into Xavier's mind with so much force he cringed.

 _Xavier. Charles. I said no. So stop._ Everyone was oblivious to what was happened, discussing the events with each other.  
He nodded silently, and Hope stepped out of the fire chamber, withdrawing from his mind. He watched her, now wary. She had more power than he thought. He'd have to try different methods to get the information he needed to help understand her and her past.

"What's next Reed?" She called up, and he placed his finger on the button to speak with her. 

"We're gonna do water. I guess just show us what you can do."

She smirked. "The bay is right by here, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Why don't we go there?" Hope asked, already walking towards her t-shirt that was laying on the ground. She threw it over the suit as everyone met by the elevators, heading out to the beach that lay just a few minutes drive from the Baxter Building.

Everyone stood on the shore, Reed with his notepad and Johnny staying well away from the water. Hope dug her feet into the sand, relishing in the feeling of the earth beneath her feet and not steel and concrete.

"Okay…here goes!" Hope said, turning to the water. She closed both eyes, raising her hands so her palms were facing the water. Slowly, it began churning, starting what looked like a whirlpool in the water. It grew in diameter until it was about twenty yards wide, then shot into the air, creating a waterspout that towered nearly as high as the buildings they had driven past. The waterspout continued turning, Hope's face clenched as she tried to focus.

Finally, she let it drop, creating waves that reached up to where they were on the beach. Breathless, she turned and smiled at them. "How'd I do?"

"Almost as impressive as your party trick!" Tony shouted, nudging Reed, who frowned at him.

"I don't like this power as much." Johnny muttered, a bit further back on the beach, and Logan snorted. 

"Why, afraid she'll put out that fire in your pants?"

Johnny smirked at him. "Oh, I don't need to worry about that. I know she'll love the burn."

"Yeah," Logan agreed sarcastically, "You keep telling yourself that, kid."

"Don't pretend you don't wanna get her in yours just as badly." Johnny scoffed, and Logan turned to glare at him. Johnny continued, "What? You don't need to be a mind reader like her to know that you just wanna f--"

"Johnny! Come here!" Sue shouted from closer to the water. Johnny waved back, "Nah, I'm good back here. Away from the water."

"Johnny…!"

He rolled his eyes, jumping up. "Fine, fine!" He walked down to Sue, crossing his arms. "What do you need of me, sister dearest?"

"Hope's gonna go do her air assessment, and we need you to fly up with her and watch." Sue told him while Hope rolled the sleeves on her suit up. 

Johnny glanced at Hope, then smiled at Sue. "Sure! I'd be happy to!"

"Yeah, we figured." Ben grunted, and Johnny smiled like a little kid. "You jealous your heavy ass can't get up there any more?"

"Oh, no." Ben shook his head. "My heavy ass is perfectly happy right here on the ground." 

"Johnny, ready?" Hope asked, and Johnny stepped towards her, nodding. "Ladies first!" Hope smirked, and the wind began swirling around her, raising her into the air. Johnny, shouting "Flame on!" promptly lit himself on fire, then followed her, flying in circles around her while she raised herself up.

"So how do you do it?" He asked above the winds, flying just off to her left.

Hope shrugged. "I dunno. I'm guessing wind currents. I never really asked why, just enjoyed it. I love the view from up here." She smiled at him then did a backflip, zooming around just as quickly as him, though not as agile. She continued to use the air whistling around them to blow the low-lying clouds out of the way, creating a space for her to rest while she looked down at the group on the beach.

Johnny came up beside her. "They look like ants."

Hope smirked. "Watch this."

Down below, they saw the group begin to look down and around as the ground shook beneath them. Suddenly, to their left, a tower of rock shot up, then another on their right. Then, below Tony, the ground raised up only a few feet, putting him just above the others.

"Ah, don't give it to Tony." Johnny complained. "He probably enjoys being higher than the others." 

Hope laughed, but her laugh was cut short as a pained expression crossed her face.

"Hope?" He asked cautiously, "You okay?"

She nodded, grimacing. "It's Xavier. He's been trying to get in my head all day." Then she cried out, grabbing her head and falling down a few feet in the air. She pushed with all she had in her, but she shouldn't get Xavier to get out while also trying to keep herself afloat. She cried out again, slowly descending while battling in her mind to get Xavier out.

But he was stronger, and more practiced. With one more barrage of attacks, he broke through, going straight for the things she kept hidden behind her barriers.

Hope's eyes closed and the wind around her stopped. Johnny dove after her as she free-fell back towards the water. He grabbed her, thankful that the flames couldn't burn her. Bringing her down to the beach and setting her down, he looked at Xavier. "What the hell are you doing!"

"It's for the good of all of us that we understand." Xavier muttered, brows drawn together in concentration.

Hope lay on the ground, and Johnny--now back to normal--hovered over her, trying to wake her up. But before anyone could do anything, a shockwave went through their minds, knocking them all to the ground. Blackness enveloped them, then a scene began to play for them.

A boy and a girl, who looked very much alike, were playing in a yard. They were staring intently at each other, and then the girl broke away from the eye contact, laughing. As she turned, Tony was the first to make the connection.

"That's Hope." He said out loud, voice echoing around them. "We're in Hope's memories, guys."

The girl and the boy continued playing in the yard, Hope showing off her powers to the boy. They saw her go into the air, then the boy yelled something, and she closed her eyes. Then something went wrong--Hope's eyes began that glow that they knew all too well. The boy screamed, holding his head as the sky grew dark. They watched in astonishment as Hope pointed at the boy, whose eyes flashed bright for a second, and then dropped to the ground, unmoving. Hope turned and flew away, eyes still aglow, and they watched as two parents came running out a few minutes later, crying over the boy.

"Did she…did she kill her brother?" Johnny asked quietly, and Bruce gasped, "The elf did. But why?"

With that, they were ripped out of it, everyone waking up on the beach, on their backs. Hope gasped for air, sitting up. As soon as she sat forward, a strangled sob came out of her mouth, tears pouring down her face. Johnny crawled over and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Everyone watched in silence, and Hope finally raised her hand to stare accusingly at Xavier. 

Her puffy red eyes shimmered with tears, the irises a deep red. "Are you satisfied?" She asked, voice catching on the last word.

Xavier didn't respond, instead just looking at the ground silently. Hope lowered her face again, crying into Johnny's shoulder, while everyone sat and stood around her, unsure of what to say.

\- - - - -

Back at the Baxter Building, Hope sat in the living room with a blanket around her shoulders and a mug of tea in her hands. Johnny sat next to her on the couch quietly, his usual cheeriness gone. Bruce and Tony sat across from her on a couple of chairs, while everyone else was standing at the edge of the room.

"I guess I should clear up a couple of questions." Hope said, setting the tea down on the coffee table. She cleared her throat, talking slowly. "My twin brother and I were always inseparable. We did everything together. And then, on our thirteenth birthday, he read my mind for the first time. At first, we just assumed it was the twin telepathy thing. Then he could read our parent's minds, and our friends, and then the neighbors and anyone else he met. He could see their memories, feel what they feel, influence them to do things, and right before he passed away, he started to be able to move things with his mind. He was so smart, because of everything he could see. He understood everything, and moved up a grade in school. Of course, I felt really left out, because my twin was a mutant and I wasn't. But then, a few months after our birthday, I could really mad at my parents and stormed out of the house and set a bush on fire. Freaking out, I waved my hands at it, and then water shot out of my hands and put it out. So I told him, and we started experimenting in parks. At first we thought it was just fire and water, but then a couple months after that, I started to be able to manipulate plants, and then move earth and create rocks out of nothing. So Eric, my brother, convinced my mom and dad that we needed to go see a conference a couple cities away, held by Hank, your friend, Beast. Eric snuck in and read his mind, learning everything he could about mutants and people with powers." Hope smirked, smiling to herself at the memory.

"What did you learn?" Bruce asked quietly, not making eye contact.

Hope glanced around the room, then blushed. "Well, we learned that a lot of mutants aren't very powerful. And then we learned about the X-Men, and then he figured out about the mutant classes. According to him, we were Omega-level mutants because of our abilities. So we celebrated in our backyard again, and that was when we learned I had air abilities as well."

Then her face grew dark. "It was one week after we discovered my air abilities. I was showing off, as you saw in the memory, and Eric compared me to that dumb show, Avatar. He asked me to see if I could control spirits as well as the elements, like the character in the show could. And I don't know how, but somehow I tapped into spirit energy. The earth is kind of it's own entity, with feelings and emotions and knowledge. Through the earth, I could feel other people and animal's life energy. So I went kind of down that path, poking into our neighbors energy, when something grabbed me and pulled me into it. Even though I told him not to, Eric was in my mind while I was doing this, and the thing that grabbed me pulled him as well. I was trapped in my own body as whatever it was took over, watching it take my brother's life. But the thing--I guess we know it's a Light Elf now--didn't kill him just to kill him. Apparently, it couldn't speak through me, and it required my brother's telepathic ability to do what it wanted. So she took his powers, and essentially his spirit, into my own body." 

Her voice began to waver. "When it took his spirit, he was killed, and that's when the Light Elf began blocking me out I guess, because whenever it took over, I could never remember what happened while it was in charge. But when I woke up three days later, I had my brother's abilities as well as my own, and that scared me. So I stayed away from people, and the Elf always prevented me from going home."

"So…basically you're saying you're too powerful for your own good, and you don't even know what all you can do?" Tony asked, still in disbelief.

Hope nodded. "I guess, yeah. I could tell Xavier's had a lot of practice with his mental abilities, and that's why he was able to beat me. I'm nowhere near as experienced, because I haven't had the need to keep practicing it out in the wilderness. My small-scale abilities are very controlled, but on a larger scale, I don't know what I can do." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I can feel him, sometimes. My brother. He didn't completely go away." Johnny reached over and put his hand on her knee, and she smiled at him, then shook her head with a sad laugh. "I don't know, I'm kind of a basket case. A really bad one, who's decent at keeping secrets but a terrible liar." Then she looked to everyone in the room. "So there you have it, the origin story of Hope and Eric Banner."

Bruce sat more upright, eyes widening. "I'm sorry, what?"

Hope narrowed her eyes at him. "I…You don't remember? Your brother, Sam?"

Bruce shook his head. "I don't have a brother. At least, not anymore. I thought he died when we were kids."

Hope shook her head. "So did he. He thought you were killed. He never really knew who you were, that he was related to the Hulk on the news. Eric figured it out when he read our dad's mind."

Bruce stood, disbelief clearly on his face. "So…I have…a family?" He glanced up to her, eyes bright with tears. After all this time of secluding himself, of feeling nothing but a bitter aloneness, he had someone who was there, and also understood what it was like. He had imagined they had a bond similar to this, but nowhere in his wildest dreams did he imagine it were true. Hope felt nothing but happiness radiating off of him. She smiled, "I didn't know when the right time to tell you would be. I didn't know if you'd be disappointed in me, or didn't want me, but--"

Bruce grabbed her and pulled her up, wrapping her in a hug and shaking his head. "I would never not want you." He chuckled at his poor sentence structure. "I…Oh, Hope. I'm so happy you told me."

Tony looked around the room. "Well, I did not expect that. I didn't think this is where this conversation was going."

Reed grabbed his shoulder. "Come on, let's give them some time." Everyone left the room, Johnny with reluctance. Bruce sat next to her, wiping the single tear that had fallen. Hope smiled at him, weight off of her shoulders now that she felt she was no longer alone.

"So…is the rest of your family…are they still…?" Bruce didn't know how to put the question gently, and Hope shrugged.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know. And I almost don't want to." Hope looked up at him. "If the Elf keeps taking over whenever I get anywhere near my hometown, there's probably something there they don't want me to see. And it scares me to even imagine what that is."

Bruce nodded. "Fair enough. I mean, I understand. All we saw in your memory was what the Elf wanted us to see, you know? So it probably kept back something much worse." Then he shook his head. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm just," He paused, searching for the right words to say, "I'm…glad. And happy. And relieved. I have family." He smirked. "I haven't had that in a long time."

Hope laughed, "I know the feeling." She smiled at him, then leaned back on the couch. "Okay, it's only six o'clock, and I already feel exhausted. We've gone through a week's amount of emotional and physical trauma."

Bruce nodded, smiling warmly as he patted her knee. "I get it, I get it. Look, we'll go back to the Avenger's Mansion tomorrow, and you can have the rest of the day to relax. I'll go over my notes, and we can start practicing on getting your abilities to your peak, so you can control them. Sound good?"

"So basically I start training to be an Avenger tomorrow?" She snorted, and he shrugged. "If you want! You'll probably have to check with Fury though. He has all the files, and I don't know if you'll qualify. Tony barely did."

"Are you saying my personality traits are worse than Tony's?" She asked in fake anger, and Bruce laughed as he stood.

"Go relax, Hope. Have some fun, eh? I'll be in the lab if you need me." He walked towards the stairs, heading to where Tony, Xavier, Reed, Sue and Ben had gone. Hope watched him go, then sighed and fell back onto the couch, taking up most of the length. She closed her eyes, listening to Logan think just a couple rooms away in his bedroom. He was brooding over the fact that Bruce was her Uncle. She laughed, withdrawing. Who knew the mighty Wolverine could be so captured by a girl found in the woods?

Then Johnny's thoughts caught her attention, and she smiled to herself.

"Hey!" 

She sat up quickly, pretending to be surprised. "Oh! Hey Johnny, you scared me."

He snorted. "Doubtful. But hey, do you wanna get out of here?"

She frowned, curious. "What do you mean?"

He smirked at her, taking her hand. "Come on, let's go get one of my sweatshirts for you, and you and I are gonna go somewhere cool, that only we can go to." She stayed out of his mind, wanting to be surprised.

"Alright, Johnny. Lead the way."

\- - - - - 

"The view is amazing up here!" Hope breathed, eyes taking in the sights around her.

Johnny had told her to close her eyes, then grabbed ahold of her and flew upwards. Hope kept their clothes in a bubble of water to keep them safe, and when they landed and she opened her eyes, she was amazed. He had flown her to the very top of the Statue of Liberty, and they sat on the outer brim of the torch.

"Favorite spot in all of New York." Johnny said, gazing around as well. "I also like it a lot 'cause no one else can get up here but me." He smirked at her, and she blushed, leaning backwards against the copper fire. The lights of the city dazzled in front of them as they began to turn on, while the water was a dark blue mass below.

"So, lemme ask you a question." Johnny said, scooting closer. She looked over to him, and smiled.

"Sure, can't guarantee an answer though."

He smiled in return. "I was expecting that. But, I'm just curious, how often are you in everyone's heads?" 

She smirked. "You just wanna know how often I'm reading yours."

"No! Well…yeah." He sighed. "I guess nothing gets past you, does it?" Then he turned to look out at the water, and Hope sat forward, leaning closer to him while the cold wind whipped around her. Unlike Johnny, her fire wasn't constantly burning inside her, so she was freezing up here while he was a comfortable 130 degrees.

"To be honest, I try and stay out of everyone's heads. Unless I'm bored, or I want to know something." She looked at him, "But earlier today, when you didn't want to tell me where we were going, I stayed out. Surprises can be kind of nice sometimes."

Johnny turned then, making eye contact with her. Their gazes held, and he asked, "Are you in there right now?"

She smiled and shook her head slowly. "I like surprises, remember?"

Johnny took that moment to lean in, lips warming her cold ones. He pulled back quickly, afraid he had burned her. Instead, he found her smiling, and he asked, "Good surprise?"

Her smile spread across her face. "Very good."

Johnny threw his arm around her, leaning backwards as they stared out at the city. "Good. You know, I'm full of surprises."

"Are they all like that one?"

"Some are hotter."

Hope laughed, and Johnny pulled her closer. They sat in silence for a moment, then Johnny broke it again.

"Look, I can't really try to pretend I know everything you've been through, or everything else that's happened to you. But I want to let you know I'll be here for you. It can be kinda nice, you know, having people who are around your own age. That's why I hang out with Spiderman. He's only about a year older than you. Everyone else is a lot older and they're all so serious." Hope sat silent, only half listening to him ramble while she searched his mind for the memory of the kiss.

"You're just different than all of them, you know that? And I don't want you to change."

She found the memory, lips pursed tightly as he continued talking. The memory was pure happiness, pure infatuation. It was going to be something Johnny would think about for the next few weeks, obsessed. She regretted the moment completely because she knew that someone else was in her mind.

"And I really care about you. I hope you know that."

With a small tear rolling down her face, she nodded, erasing the memory from his mind so he thought they did nothing up here but sit closely. The feelings for her he harbored were changed to that of more of a friendly bond. He froze for a second, then shook his head as if he were waking up, leaning a little further away from her and taking his arm off of her.

"Sorry, what was I saying?"

Hope laughed briskly, brushing the tear away as she leaned casually against the torch again. "You were talking about the first time you met Ben."

"Oh, right!" Johnny said, back to normal. "Okay, so this big bald guy comes at me…"

Hope listened to his story, ashamed at herself for resorting to that. Eric wouldn't have wanted her to use her powers this way, and she didn't want it either. But she felt bad, and she didn't want Johnny hurt, not when she was making friends for the first time in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sad, poor johnny ):
> 
> And she's not a Mary Sue, I swear. Her limitations on her powers come in the later chapters and the next book, don't worry haha.


	8. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope meets the antagonist.

"I haven't had pancakes since I was 14!" Hope exclaimed, glancing around the kitchen with wide eyes. Bruce turned and smiled to her, setting the spatula on the counter.

"I think I may have gone a little overboard with the uncle thing, seeing as you aren't exactly a little girl…" He offered, shrugging sheepishly. Hope smiled and hugged him anyways, turning to look at the food that lay on the table.

"I don't care. This smells too amazing to tease you about."

"Not for me, I'll tease him for the rest of his life." Tony said, coming into the kitchen and making his presence known. "So how many are for me? Seven? Eight?"

"They're for Hope." Bruce sighed, turning to flip the remaining pancakes.

"Do I get any?" Johnny mumbled, walking in and rubbing his eyes.

"Sleeping beauty has awoken!" Hope called, hopping up to sit on the counter and grabbing a pancake. "I didn't think you'd be awake for another few hours, we were out so late last night."

Johnny grinned at her, "Food always wakes the beauty from his slumber."

"You guys were out last night? Where?" Tony asked, making a pained expression similar to that of a small child. "And why wasn't I invited?"

"Secret!" Hope told him through a mouthful of pancake. Johnny shrugged, leaning on the counter beside her and grabbing a sausage off the plate. "What happens with Hope stays with Hope." She nudged him, laughing, and taking his sausage before he could bite into it. Bruce smiled at them and turned to Tony, who raised his eyebrows. Bruce sighed and shook his head, turning away from Tony.

\- - - - - 

"Okay, last test to produce a result, I promise." Reed said, placing one more electrical wire onto her forehead. "This one has a super toned down version of the tesseract energy attached to it. Since Thor mentioned that she's from another realm, maybe this will wake the elf up and get it to talk to us." He looked to Xavier, "You ready?"

Xavier nodded, mind at the ready to put Hope to sleep in case the Elf became too much. She was already restrained in a chair, lips pursed with tension. She was nervous about this, about trying to get the elf to talk to them. "What if she's mean? What if she tries to hurt someone again?"

"That's why you're bound up. Even if she's controlling you, she still only has your strength. And no offense, but I don't think you can bend steal." Reed made a sympathetic face, and Hope sighed. 

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Reed stepped back behind the control panel, flicking the switch hesitantly. Hope felt the familiar tingles in her mind as she had the past few tests, and then a new sensation flew through her, a blue light flashing behind her eyes. "Guys, I think we hit it…" She mumbled, feeling the warmth growing in the back of her mind and spreading forward. She felt herself blacking out again, looked once more towards Logan, standing at the back of the room, and then all was black.

Bruce watched intently as Hope's eyes closed, and when they opened again, they were glowing with the bright white light they had seen back at the mansion.

_Mortals, I've almost had enough of your prodding._ The voice echoed in everyone's minds, and Hope turned to look at Reed, Bruce and Tony. _What do you need?_  
"Well, uh--" Bruce was pushed forward by Tony, who sat wide-eyed and staring at Hope. He frowned at Tony, then turned forward to face her again, clearing his throat. "We just had a few questions we had hoped you could answer for us."

_And what makes you think I will?_

Bruce swallowed. He didn't like this voice, it sounded much too old and elegant to be coming out of such a young girl's body. "I…I guess we all hoped you would be agreeable, and civil…?" He offered, face grimacing in case of mental attack.  
But none came.

Idril sat back, smiling cooly. _You amuse me. Go ahead, with your questions._

Bruce looked back to Reed, who stepped forward in turn. "Well, Idril, if I may call you that, we have one main question, I suppose." He looked to his notes again, then back up. "Why Hope? Why, all of this?"

_That question requires a lengthy answer._ She replied. _Are you sure you want to know?_

Reed nodded. "Positive. We just need some clarification."

_Then I will block it in all of your minds, so the girl may not find out. It could be disastrous._ Idril blinked slowly, smirking at the steel bands around her wrist. With a slight tilt of her head, the steel began to bend back, releasing Hope's wrists from confinement. _It is because of the earth element, if you were wondering. As Hope's power progresses and strengthens, she will find she has control over many more things than she imagined._ Hope then looked up at all of them again, _And that is why I am here._

_A few years beyond this, my brethren and I saw a great rift in this realm. When we looked into it, it appeared as if the Mutants had wiped out the human race. That single action caused the negative energy to spiral out of control, and we raced to see what had caused it. When we went to Midgard, the leaders of this extinction were Hope and her brother, Eric. A human man had shot and killed both their parents in their early teens, and this had caused them to become angry individuals who swore revenge. So we decided to interfere._

_Our first attempt was to stop her parents from dying, but because of that, her parents had another child who was not a mutant and was extremely jealous of his siblings. They bullied him when he was young, and he grew up to wipe out all the mutants and people with superhuman abilities. So we went back once again, and decided to send me to possess the minds of these two so they did not remember their parents. But, we had no way to communicate with them, we could only communicate with the boy. Trials and trials happened, each ending in destruction of some sort. Through him, we found out his mental abilities grew to be so great, even he could not fully control them anymore. They erupted and caused over 30% of the lives on this earth to be wiped out._

_The girl's sense of goodness was immense, so it became our final attempt to possess her. Yet, still, we required her brother's power to speak. And since that power wasn't within her, we took it from her brother, effectively eliminating him. At first, we didn't block that memory, but it was that mistake that caused her to declare war on us, so we went back to change this._

_And that brings us to where we are today. We blocked it and everything that could trigger her to act on her anger. But you mortals, you have interfered, something we did not predict. And now, we wait to see which way she destroys the world this time, so that we may prevent it._

Idril sat back, smirking again. Reed shook his head. "You honestly don't believe she'll make the right choice?"

_It all comes down to a battle in the woods, where Hope realizes what her true power really is. No matter the timeline we create, she always ends up in the woods, with or without her brother, realizing that she is the pure physical energy of the earth, incarnate, while her brother is the mental._ Idril responded quickly. _So, we shall find out then if your faith is well placed. Until then._ She bowed her head, her presence drifting slowly from everyone's minds. Hope's head leaned back heavily against the chair, going limp as the elf disappeared once more.

They all sat silently, in shock of what they had just heard. Glancing at one another, Tony finally muttered, "So is she a classified Omega now?"

Sue whacked him on the backside of the head, while Xavier watched Hope carefully. What had he unleashed on the world, and was what he did truly the cause of the coming end?

\- - - - - 

Niece or not, Bruce cared about Hope, especially more so now that they were related. He truly hoped they could help her and get her back on her feet. That's why they were taking her back to the Avenger's mansion, to help her hone her abilities. Of course, Xavier would want to take her to his school, but he felt she should stay with them. 

It took only a couple hours to get everyone up and packed and back in the car. Bruce got into the driver's seat again with Tony as his passenger, Xavier and Logan in the middle seat, and Hope taking up the rear. She had hugged all of them goodbye, taunting Johnny right back and making him promise he'd come see her soon. 

Hope settled into the backseat, feet propped up on the seat and leaning on the same side of the car that Logan was trying to take a nap on. She watched the view of the window opposite her, the buildings and sidewalks giving way to slightly more foliage as they headed towards the Avenger's Mansion. Tony liked to take the back way there, or as Bruce called it, the "painfully scenic view". They turned onto the old state highway, turning what could have been an hour and a half drive through traffic into a two hour drive through trees. Hope laughed at the teasing Bruce and Logan gave Tony, but she secretly enjoyed it. She missed being out among the plants and the elements. Maybe she'd camp out in the Avenger's backyard tonight, or turn the danger room into a jungle if they didn't have one.

A ripping noise that consisted of screeching metal hit their ears, making everyone flinch. 

"What the hell?" Tony yelled over the noise, and in response, the car exploded, sending everyone flying in different directions along the deserted road and into the forest. Hope felt everyone's bodies be tossed, Tony landing further down the road, Xavier hitting a tree and being thrown from his chair, Bruce being rolled down the side of the small ravine--the hulk was waking up--and Logan and her being tossed up the hill, rolling to a stop beneath a couple large rocks.

Hope gasped for breath, the wind knocked out of her on impact. Logan recovered more quickly, jumping up and immediately dropping into a defensive stance over her, glaring to her left. Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked and saw a man floating down to come to a stop, three yards away. How had she not been able to sense him?

"Hope! It's about time we meet!" The man said in a deep, resonating voice. Hope sat up, sliding off to Logan's side.

"Who are you?" She asked cautiously, standing slowly. Her body hurt--a lot. Logan growled beside her, "And what do you want?"

"Mutants call me Magneto." He said, raising his hands on either side of him. "And currently, I'm kidnapping you!"

Flicking one hand, Logan was raised into the air and tossed to the side. Hope watched him go with wide eyes, then spun back to face Magneto. Before she could move to attack, a man with red skin appeared out of thin air beside her. Again, startled, she merely stared at him. He smiled and grabbed her and took ahold of Magneto, making them all disappear within seconds of his appearance. 

Logan sprinted back over there, not finding a trace of her. "Hope!" He shouted, spinning in circles and glancing around. "Hope!"

Down the hill, Tony helped Xavier back into his chair while Bruce struggled to control the Hulk as he climbed up the ravine. They looked up as Logan continued his pointless spinning, looking like a crazy man as his eyes searched for her.

"Hope!"

\- - - - -

They appeared in a dark building, Hope being forced to her knees upon arrival. Just as she knelt, a syringe was injected into her arm, causing her to cry out.

"She's sedated for now." A female voice said from behind her.

"Thank you, Mystique." 

Hope looked up to the man standing in front of her as the edges of her vision began to blur. She recognized Magneto from before, but as she reached out her mind to the other's in the room, she found it blocked, like she couldn't get out of her own mind. She tried to reach for fire, for air, water, earth, anything--nothing was responding. Not even her brother's presence in the back of her mind, nor the elf's. 

"I see you're discovering the effects of our sedative." Magneto spoke again, with a hint of amusement. Hope glanced up again, and he continued. "You see, Hope, I have great plans for you." An evil grin crept up his face as Mystique and the red man came to stand on either side of him. "And I can't wait to get started."

\- - - - -

_"What do you mean they took her?"_

Tony flinched at Reed's voice over the phone while a faint echo of Johnny lighting himself on fire and Sue yelling after him also crackled through.

"I don't know how they did it." Tony said, exasperated. "Suddenly our car blew up, we were thrown all different directions, and the next thing I know, Hope's being teleported out by some guy who got too much sun and a man in a weird suit."

"Azazel and Magneto." Wolverine muttered, working on trying to fix the Professor's chair. Bruce sat a ways off, head in his hands as he struggled to stay calm.

"Yeah, Logan knows these guys, so I'm assuming they got beef with the X-men." Tony added, and Reed asked, _"Do we have any idea where they went?"_

Tony glanced to Xavier, who shook his head silently, and sighed. "No. Not yet."

Reed paused, and Tony grew uncomfortable in the silence. How had he not seen this coming?

_"I guess…go regroup, and we'll figure out a plan. Call if you find anything out."_

Tony looked down at the ground. "Yeah, you too. Try not to let Johnny set anything on fire." Reed hung up with a sigh, and Tony stared at his phone for a moment. He knew it wasn't the right moment to joke around, but it was what he did to cope. He looked to Xavier and what was left of their group. Johnny was already going to be out looking for her, he assumed that was what the clamor was about in the background of the call. He knew the Avengers would be for it. Probably the X-men. 

Their main concern now was to figure out what they wanted with her, and where they were keeping her. He didn't know their enemy, so he'd be depending on the X-men for this. Internally, he shivered. He didn't like things he didn't know much about.

"So…" He started, looking around at them once again, "Who do we call for a ride?"


	9. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope makes an escape.

Hope glanced up as footsteps reached her ears. In the harsh light of the room, she watched as Magneto walked towards her, his usual evil smirk in place. She strained against the ropes once again, her wrists and feet bound to the table and chair that she sat at.

"Now, Hope, don't go injuring your wrists any more than they already are." He said sarcastically, sounding like a grandfather. She looked down, grimacing at the rope burns and dried blood. Looking back up to him, she narrowed her eyes, "What do you want with me?"

"You see, Hope, you're very powerful." He started, pacing slowly in front of her. His dark outfit stood in stark contrast to the brightly lit room, everything in it a pristine white. Hope, covered in dirt from the car crash and in her dirty clothes, stood out like a sore thumb.

"I'm waging a war." He said, turning to face her. "And you are my secret weapon."

"But I'm not that powerful." Hope told him, still struggling against the fog in her mind that prevented her from using her abilities. It was going away, slowly, but the more she fought against it, the more it went away.

"Don't be humble, Hope. It doesn't suit you." Magneto frowned at her. "You and I both know your powers far exceed anyone else you've encountered so far." 

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She protested, still fighting in her mind, unbeknownst to Magneto, who walked over, untying her feet as he spoke.

"You will soon, I promise. You have so much power, Hope. We're going to show you." He untied her hands and yanked her to a standing position. "Come, we're taking you to your cell, until I'm ready to deploy you."

They walked out of the bright room and down yet another bright hallway that looked as if they were in a mental facility. It might as well be, she thought to herself. This Magneto guy was crazy if he thought she could be 'used' in a war. They turned a corner, and she was pushed forwards into an open door which led to a much darker room. Before she could recover from almost stumbling, she was shoved against the wall, wrists and ankles bound by steel rings. Magneto smiled at her.

"Enjoy your room and your roommate. We'll be by to give you another dose of the sedation tomorrow. Be prepared to accept your role in the war, Hope." He turned and shut the door behind him, leaving her eyes to adjust to the dark room.

"So how'd Magneto get you?"

Hope jumped as another voice spoke to her. Peering around, she saw a man strapped to the opposite wall in a similar fashion to her. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed the man had wings on his back, bound as well.

"You're not mute, are you?" He asked cautiously, and she shook her head.

"No…by any chance, are you Warren?"

He straightened up. "I am. How do you know me?"

She smiled. "My name's Hope. I used to be with the X-men. When I was with them, the mutant known as Mystique was impersonating you, although I only half-knew then." She struggled against the barriers in her mind, slowly feeling them getting weaker. "How long have you been here?"

Warren shrugged. "A week maybe? After day four I lost count. What did Magneto mean about play your role?"

"Um," Hope was focusing on the barriers in her mind, straining against them. "He thinks I'm going to help him turn the tide in his war against whoever. I can't read his mind for some reason, so I don't know the whole story."

"You're a mind reader?"

"Among other things." She responded with a smirk. Suddenly, a barrier in her head snapped, releasing one of her abilities. It was just the one she needed.

Before Warren could ask another question, the steel bands around his wings bent himself apart, freeing them. The shackles that bound the rest of him to the wall splintered apart and he fell forward, stretching his wings.

"Did you…?" He looked up at her, watching with amazement as her own shackles fell to pieces as well. She stumbled to the ground, strength still not fully returned.

"Yeah. I did that." She shook her head, still battling against the other barriers. "I control the earth element. Steel comes from the earth, so I guess I can control that as well." She said hurriedly, then stood. "Alright, we have to get out of here." She walked over to the wall, closing her eyes as she placed her hand on it. Feeling with the Earth spirit inside of her, she extended her reach beyond the walls.

"This one leads to the outside, but it's a fifty foot drop. Can you fly us out of here?" She said, looking to him. He smiled in response, wings extending to their full span, taking up the entire length of the cell.

"I'd be more than happy to." 

Hope smiled at him and turned back, focusing. Again, she felt the elements in the cement that came from the earth and focused all her energy on separating them. The wall crumbled in front of them, leaving an opening large enough for them to escape through.

"That's amazing!" Warren said. "All I can do is fly!" 

"Well, you're exactly what we need now." Hope said, pointing to the open air that stretched before them.

"Hey!" 

Hope and Warren spun to face the door, where another mutant--presumably a guard--stood, finger pointed at them. "They're escaping!"

"Now, Warren!" Hope shouted, and he dove forward, knocking them out of the hole. With a mighty snap, his wings unfurled, stopping their drop and carrying them up and into the cloud layer. He flapped furiously, riding the currents while he held Hope to his chest. She clung on, eyes shut tight as she struggled with the other barriers in her mind.

Behind them, still in the compound, Magneto glared at his escaped prisoners flying away.

"Figure out what went wrong, then follow the signal from Warren." He growled. "Go!"

The mutants around him scrambled away, leaving him to wallow in his anger towards Hope. He would have to find a different means of controlling her.

\- - - - - 

"Okay, so where would Magneto most likely be located?" Tony paced around Xavier's office. "We have to figure out where his lair is. It can't be too far."

Everyone was silent, thinking to themselves. Logan glanced at everyone in here, all focused on recovering Hope. The list of people was many in this room: she seemed to be a common interest for everyone. The Avengers were here, all standing by the windows at the ready. Spiderman stood next to them, and Johnny was next to him, along with the rest of the Fantastic Four. Jean, Scott, Storm, Xavier, himself, Rogue, Bobby and even Hank, continued the circle around the room, ending with Bruce, who hadn't spoken since Hope was taken. 

"I recall him saying once he enjoyed the Catskill mountains once." Storm mused. "Shall we try there?"

Xavier looked up to her. "Yes, his father had a summer retreat there, long long ago." He looked to Tony. "We'll need to spread out along the mountains. Spread down into the valleys as well, in case Hope has managed to escape and is running. She could be anywhere in the forest."

"Alright, Avengers, go north." Steve spoke up, pulling his hood over his face. "Fantastic Four, take the middle. X-men, divide yourselves among the southern region and the places near the cities." No one questioned him, each standing more attentively and nodding.

"Xavier and I will stay here in Cerebro, and direct you all if she is found by someone." Hank grumbled, low voice echoing as everyone else was silent. "Godspeed, and good luck." He nodded, and everyone exited. Bruce followed more slowly, and Xavier stopped him.

"We'll find her, Bruce. Don't worry."

Bruce shrugged with a sad smile. "You can't help but worry when you tend to lose every family member sooner or later." He walked out of the room then, and Xavier watched him go.

"Will we find her, Charles?" Hank asked, coming to stand next to him. "Magneto may have killed her, if he sees her as a threat."  
Xavier shook his head. "No, he wouldn't have done that. If anything, he views her as a tool to use against humans." He looked out the window. "He intends to use her in his war. He won't get rid of such a powerful weapon."

\- - - - -

"Gah!" Warren faltered again, wings growing tired. They had been flying for two hours, and still were they nowhere they could recognize.

"Warren, I think we're okay." Hope said softly. "You can land now, we can walk from here on out." 

He nodded, grimacing. He flew them lower, descending below the tops of the trees. They landed on the ground and he sat, breathing heavily. Hope looked at him, concerned. She had retained all of her elemental abilities, yet her mental ones lay just beyond reach. The barrier was close to breaking, but she needed just a little more time to work at it.

"Are you alright?" She asked, hand on his shoulder.

He nodded with a breathless laugh. "Being underfed for a week or more and then flying for two hours with extra weight takes its toll on you." He stood slowly. "Walk slowly for a bit, and let me recover. Then we can continue."

Hope nodded, head down as they walked. Her entire concentration was focused on breaking the final barrier--the one she needed the most.

"So, mind reader and earth element. Any other useful powers?" Warren asked, attempting to make conversation. Hope smiled.  
"All of the elements, actually. Fire, water, air, all of it. And I'm telepathic."

Warren's brow furrowed as he looked to her. "If you can do all that, how the hell did Magneto catch you?"

Hope shrugged, embarrassed. "I can't sense his mind for some reason, I'm assuming because of that helmet he has. And he used a teleported against me, whom I also can't sense until he's already there." Hope kicked a pinecone. "It was dumb. I still should have been able to do something."

"But you did!" Warren protested, nudging her. "You broke us out of there, and quickly. I thought he would have sedated you or something."

Hope grinned broadly at him. "He did."

Warren's eyes widened, then he laughed. "I bet that surprised him! You're powerful, kid. We could use you."

"I'm not a kid, I'm 19." Hope huffed, rolling her eyes. "And no offense, but after the week I've had, I need a year long hiatus from all things mutant."

Warren laughed again and nodded. "I understand. I can only imagine how Xavier and everyone reacted to you. I bet Logan didn't like his mind being read."

Hope smiled. "No, he wasn't too happy." Suddenly the barrier broke in her mind and she stumbled, surprised by the sudden sensation of all of the presences she felt around her. The barrier continued to shatter, resonating within her own mind and making her tremble down to her core until the feeling faded out. Confused, she looked around the valley they currently stood in, Warren watching her carefully. She glanced around her, then sent her mind out, searching for what these things that she felt were. 

To her alarm, she was met with silence. They were there, they were alive, but whatever they were, they had no thoughts. They were simply alive and breathing and growing.

"Oh my god, it's the plants." She whispered, eyes flying open as she spun around.

"What? Plants?" Warren asked, still regarding her with suspicion. She spun to face him, feeling his presence in a new way. Not only could she feel his thoughts and memories just behind a thin wall, but she could sense his very being.

But before she could contemplate what this was, a boom echoed through the forest. Hope tuned down her new sense, locating the source of the noise. With alarm, she watched as Magneto floated towards them, but he wasn't what had caused the noise.  
"Ah, Hope! Good to see you again!" Magneto's smile grew dark. "Time to come back, now." He raised his hand and Warren flinched back, bracing himself for the inevitable impact of cold metal against flesh.

Then the boom sounded again, and lightning struck the ground in front of Magneto. A large form slammed into the ground, straightening up and facing him.

Thor frowned. "You shall do no harm here today, Magneto. Now leave, before I am forced to hurt you."


	10. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle in the woods.

"Thor's found her." Xavier whispered, listening through Cerebro. "But Magneto and his men are there as well." As quickly as he could, he sent the message to all of the mutants out looking for her. Hank sat with his hands pressed against his mouth. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late.

Xavier grimaced, watching the battle unfold before his eyes. This was it, the battle in the woods. This would determine the entire fate of the world.

He could only pray she would make the right choice.

\- - - - - 

"Stand down, Magneto." Thor rumbled, face frozen in an angry stare. He gripped his hammer tighter, and Hope shrank behind him, afraid for what Magneto was thinking.

Magneto smiled at him. "You think you can beat me with a hammer? Foolish man!" He reached his hand out again, expecting the hammer to fly to him. Instead, lightning crackled in the sky, causing both of them to look up, confused.

"What on Earth…?" Magneto mumbled, puzzled.

"Hey! Metalhead!" Logan appeared, jumping down a hill to their right. "Back off!"

Magneto laughed. "You think you're the only ones who have back up coming?" On cue, the brotherhood of mutants began down the hill behind him, all flexing and showing off their powers as if to intimidate them. Logan, Thor and Warren all backed in front of Hope, gazing with apprehension before them.

Then more shouting reached from behind them, along with the sounds of fire and machinery and the roar of a large monster, and Hope smiled. "And here's our back up!"

Hulk slammed down onto the ground, just a couple feet away from magneto. He growled, snorting as Magneto stared him down.  
"Give up now, Magneto!" Tony called, voice sounding metallic through his iron man suit. He hovered above them as the X-men, Fantastic Four and the rest of the Avengers gathered below him.

"As if." Magneto scoffed, raising his hand. "Brothers, attack!"

The evil mutants ran forward, reaching for whoever was nearest them. The people behind Hope responded, swarming into the masses. The fights erupted, and Hope backed away, eyes wide as she watched what was happening.

Thor hit mutant after mutant with his hammer, sending them flying.

A mutant called Toad knocked down Rogue and Bobby, also causing them to roll to a stop a few feet away.

Johnny caught one girl on fire, while another mutant slammed into him, knocking him to the ground beside Logan, who was busy in a brawl with Quicksilver.

"No…" Hope whispered, new abilities flaring up inside of her with unexpected sensitivity. Her senses returned, bringing with it the feelings of everyone's spirits around her. "No!"

\- - - - - 

Xavier, back at the school, flinched with Hope.

"What is it?" Hank asked, anxious.

"Hope…she can feel everyone. She can feel every hit, every blow. Her powers have escalated somehow, and she has new ability." He looked at his old friend, wincing. "I almost can't bear to be in her mind." He shook his head. "She's found it. She's feeling the energy of every living being on this earth, and it's escalated numerous ties over because of her brother's abilities manifesting as well."

Hank shook his head. "So this is it."

Xavier nodded, closing his eyes again. "We can only wait and see if she destroys they world, or saves it."

\- - - - -

"No!" Hope cried out again, stumbling backward and falling against a tree. She gripped it for support, feeling every single hit that every mutant took. She couldn't control her new sense, couldn't reign it in to stop the sensation. Every time they hit a tree, she felt that tree's pain, and when someone was cut open, she felt as if her own body was being torn apart. 

Suddenly, she felt Logan's claws go straight through her stomach. Her head snapped up, vision laser-focused to across the field, where Logan was pulling his claws out of the fallen mutant. She felt the life fade from that mutant, as if it were being torn out of her own soul.

Rage built inside her. How could they cause so much pain willingly? They were mutants, they would heal. Yet Magneto was planning on doing this to the humans? Using her to cause pain and destruction when they could barely defend themselves. Her anger boiled over, and she rose, hand pointing to the entire field as winds gathered around her, raising her into the air.

With a grip on everyone's spirits, she shouted, _"Enough!"_ And froze them all.

\- - - - -

Xavier froze, eyes wide. How on earth was that possible?

"Hank…she's taken control over everyone. She's made them stop fighting." He looked to his friend behind them. "Can you control someone's very spirit?"

"It's not like we don't find a new ability every day…" He muttered, face clenched tight into a worried frown. "But how ethical is it to use this ability?"

"We shall see, friend." Xavier muttered. "We shall see."

\- - - - -

Logan, frozen in his battle stance, was rotated so that he was facing Hope, hovering above everyone in the valley. Her eyes were aglow, but with almost a purple hue instead of the normal white. Glancing around the valley, he saw that everyone was encased in this purple glow, even himself.

"That's enough!" Hope shouted again. "There has been too much pain caused already!" With a flick of her hand, she divided the mutants, making them walk back to their original sides they had started on. Logan could feel his legs walking him back over, though he wasn't controlling them. She was.

"Go. Go back to where you came from, and do not return." She told them, and Logan was sure everyone would listen, otherwise she would make them. "Do not come back here. There will be no battle taking place today, or ever, so long as I shall live." With another flick, she sent the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants walking back, Magneto yelling curses until he grew hoarse and they could no longer hear him. Hope turned her gaze to the people who had came and defended her, speaking again.

"You fought with good intentions, but fighting is not the way to solve this. Those are your brethren. Do not take family for granted."

Logan glanced around the clearing, suddenly able to wiggle his fingers. Hope's control over them was wavering. He looked back to her, arms now free to move.

She struggled in the air for a moment, and then the purple glow faded in her eyes and she began falling to the ground.

Thor shot forward again, just as he had two days prior, and caught her just in time. As he held her, kneeling on the ground, a single whisper went through everyone's minds.

_And so you have been saved._

Hope began glowing, a white light encasing her entire being. With a bright flash, it was gone, and everyone could move fully again.

"Hope?" Thor said quietly, looking down at her. She didn't respond, and everyone began to come up behind him, gathering in a loose circle as they all looked on. She lay there, unmoving, and Johnny, who was closest to Thor, asked quietly, "Is she…?"

"She is alive." Thor answered, watching her carefully.

Logan reached down and set a hand on Thor's shoulder, worry mixed in with anger and, though he would never admit it, jealousy. "I'll take her from here. Let's get her home." He leaned down and took her from Thor, holding her in his arms as he turned and began walking towards the jet that Jean had flown here. He ignored all the alarmed looks of everyone he passed, ignored their footsteps behind him as they followed him, ignored their whispers.

All he was focused on was Hope's breathing, making sure it continued as he took her back to the school, to safety.


	11. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so you have been saved.

"Hope?"

Hope shifted, mind waking up before she did. Quickly, she sensed multiple beings in the room with her, and pulled back her awareness, only wishing to feel their presence. This new ability would take some getting used to.

She opened her eyes, first seeing Thor standing at the back corner of the room. She smiled and he returned it, then her eyes refocused and noticed Tony and Bruce in front of him, Johnny and Logan off to the left, and Xavier with another man off to the right.

"So you're Nick Fury." She said quietly, pulling herself into a sitting position. "I wish we could have met under better conditions."

Fury wasn't phased one bit that she knew his name. He nodded, remaining in the same position as he had before. "Ms. Banner. Nice to meet you as well."

"I'm glad you're well, Hope." Xavier said, smiling at her. "Do you remember what occurred in the forest at the battle?"

Hope nodded, drawing her legs into a criss cross position below her. She was sore, how long had she been asleep for? "Yeah, I do. Look, I get it if you guys are mad, but the pain was unbearable. It had to stop."

"We're not angry, Hope. Just surprised." Tony interrupted. He crossed his arms in front of him. "We had no idea you could do that. Honestly, it was kind of freaky." 

Xavier continued, "We also wanted to let you know that Idril is gone. She left as you passed out--"

"I know." Hope stated. "I can't feel her anymore. Her barriers are gone."

Tony and Bruce glanced at each other, and Xavier asked, "So you are aware of what really happened?"

Hope nodded slowly again. "How I basically chose the path that didn't lead to the world ending? Yeah, I know. I also know she told all of you." She closed her eyes. "I know everything, now."

"With your new found knowledge, do you have anything to say about your powers?" Fury asked, narrowing his one eye. 

Hope smirked. "Yeah. I don't know how to control them, yet, but I do know everything I can do now. It's amazing what all she was hiding from me."

"With that being said, I have a proposition to make." Fury placed his hand on his hips, stepping forward. "I'd like you to take up a position here at Xavier's school, until you've mastered most of your abilities. After that....I'm offering a formal invitation for you to become a part of the Avenger's Initiative."

Everyone looked at him, Johnny bursting out, "What?"

Hope's eyes widened. She was definitely not expecting that. "What?" She asked, echoing Johnny.

"You heard me." Fury said with a small smile. "We think you'd make a great member of the team."

Hope looked to everyone, then back at Fury, excitement barely contained. "I'd love to! Oh my God, thank you!"

Fury smiled, nodding. "It's my pleasure. Now, I'll leave you to get some rest. I'll be back in a few months to check in on you and see how you're getting along." He turned towards the door, nodding as he walked out. "Gentlemen."

Tony followed after him, a barrage of questions escaping from him. Bruce smiled at Hope, then followed him out, Xavier wheeling along behind him. 

"Come on, kid, let her get some rest." Logan grabbed Johnny's shoulder, and he pushed Logan off. "I can walk myself, thanks."

He turned and gave Hope a smile, tossing the beanie he had in his hand to her. "I'll be back tomorrow after you've slept a bit more, as if two days isn't enough." He smirked, then walked out behind Logan, attempting to flick his ear. 

Thor watched them all go, then turned back towards Hope's bed, taking a seat in silence.

"What, you aren't going with the power squad?" She asked, smirking. Thor smiled, gaze remaining on the floor.

"No. I wish to remain with you for a while longer, if that is alright with you." He quickly glanced at her with a worried look, and Hope giggled and nodded. Thor smiled again, then added, "I wished to tell you that your abilities were impressive this past week. And above all else, your moral stance outshone every other mortal's I've met. Save for Captain Rogers."

Hope laughed again. "I doubt anyone's morals are better than Steve's."

Thor scooted a bit closer to her, taking her hand in his. "You've amazed me, Lady Hope. And if it were alright with you, I would like to begin courting you."

She stared at him, then started laughing, leaning backwards against the bed frame. Puzzled, he asked, "Did I make a joke?"

She shook her head, calming down her giggles. "No! No, you're okay." She pushed her dark hair behind her ear. "It's just, it's not really courting here. It's, ah, more called "dating" and you go out together."

"Oh." Thor shrugged. "Then I wish to take you on a date, Lady Hope."

"And I'm perfectly okay with that, Sir Thor." Hope responded, smile as wide as her face. "One condition, though."

"And that would be?"

"Stop calling me Lady Hope. It's just Hope."

Thor grinned at her, gripping her hand tighter. "As you wish, Hope."

Hope smiled at him, but was distracted. Just outside the door, Logan stood listening, anger brewing in his mind. 

He turned away and walked down the hall, denying it was jealousy. He didn't get jealous. He was Wolverine. Hope was just one girl, one girl out of thousands he'd met, and he had a thousand more to meet.

But none compared to feelings he got around her.

With an audible huff, he turned and walked out of the school, looking for Scott's motorcycle. He needed a joyride.

Hope drew her mind's awareness back to the moment, and smiled at Thor as he excused himself. She leaned backwards, relaxing into the bed. She smiled at the pile of clothes that now lay on armchair in the room. There was a suit, donated by the Fantastic Four, so she didn't burn what few clothes she had. There was another pair of sweatpants, black this time, and a blue t-shirt, and a green sweatshirt. There was one pair of jeans, probably unhappily donated by Rogue, who was closest to her size. And on top of all that, hung on the arm of the chair, was a red and black plaid flannel. Smiling to herself, she realized that was the flannel Wolverine was wearing when they first met. She settled back, pulling the hat Johnny had given her before he left to try it out. Everything was right once again, she felt. 

Even so, she couldn't sleep comfortably. There was one thing that needed taken care of first.

\- - - - -

"Are you sure you aren't mad?"

Eric shook his head, smiling. "You stopped the fighting. And according to Idril, you saved the world. Of course I'm not mad."

Hope smiled, looking down to the grass she sat in. She was in the back of her mind, speaking with her brother's spirit who had awoken along with her new abilities. She had assumed he'd be only a memory, but here he was: alive and walking. Well, in her head. He seemed a bit different, but she assumed he had just grown up along with her, so he was bound to be different. "I didn't know your powers could do that. It scared me."

"It scares me, too. But look at it this way: you can feel spirits now. You can feel me again, I'm here, almost fully."

Hope snorted. "Wonderful. Now you're in my mind constantly, something every girl wants her brother to be."

Eric laughed, shoving her gently. "Shut up, Hope. You know you missed me." Then he grew serious, gaze focused on her. "You know, with your abilities, you can do amazing things now. I mean, controlling spirits...having mine in you...it opens up new possibilities."

Hope's eyes widened as she looked at him. "Are you suggesting...?" That couldn't be done. It would mean risking his life, risking hers, giving up half of her abilities, not to mention she didn't think it was ethical whatsoever. He couldn't be thinking that. Eric wasn't the type.

Eric nodded, a smile growing on his tired face. "You could bring me back, Hope. You could bring me back to life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of book one! Book two will be posted shortly. (:
> 
> My friend also made a playlist for this story! SO here it is:
> 
> Daylight - Maroon Five  
> My Own Worst Enemy - Lit  
> Permanent Rain - The Dangerous Summer  
> Angel With a Shotgun - The Cab  
> Geronimo - Sheppard  
> Can’t Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers  
> Audrey, Start the Revolution - Anberlin  
> Not Your Fault - Awolnation

**Author's Note:**

> again, thanks so much to everyone who read this story! love you all SOSOSO much <3
> 
> you can find me on tumblr at powercuntgirls


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